Yifei Zhang, Patrick Lo, Stuart So and Dickson K.W. Chiu
The paper aims to investigate current library instruction programs to help business students make better use of library resources and improve their information. However, students’…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to investigate current library instruction programs to help business students make better use of library resources and improve their information. However, students’ information acquisition ability, library usage and their perception toward library user education are inevitably changing along with the rapidly evolving information landscape as well as the socio-cultural environment driven by information technologies.
Design/methodology/approach
For this study, 90 business students from three different majors at the Faculty of Business and Economics, the University of Hong Kong were invited to participate in the online survey for comparison.
Findings
The findings of this study suggest that the subjects, in general, recognized the importance of library user instruction. However, when the subjects encountered difficulties in information searching, they preferred to use search engines (such as Google) and seek help from their classmates.
Practical implications
The results of this study show that there were distinctive differences in library usage and views toward library instruction among students of three different majors. This study sheds light on the feasible actions of academic libraries to enhance library user instruction services and improve the IL skills among business students.
Originality/value
Although there is much research about the library instruction of academic libraries, scant research focuses on library usage and views toward library instruction of business students, especially on the comparison among different business majors.
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Sheng Li, Yaoqi Zhang, Denis Nadolnyak, John David Wesley and Yifei Zhang
Since 2004, subsidies increased by 670 percent in the Chinese fertilizer industry to reduce the farmer's burden. The purpose of this paper is to assess whether subsidies benefit…
Abstract
Purpose
Since 2004, subsidies increased by 670 percent in the Chinese fertilizer industry to reduce the farmer's burden. The purpose of this paper is to assess whether subsidies benefit the target groups, the fertilizer subsidy distribution pattern and benefit allocation pattern among fertilizer producers and other sectors were investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
The Muth model is extended to evaluate the impacts of a subsidy on multi-stage markets.
Findings
It is found that the total benefits from the policy are about RMB 7.7 billion yuans. The fertilizer suppliers gain about RMB 51 billion yuans from the favorable policy with mean subsidy incidence 0.8 and capturing about 70 percent of total surplus.
Social implications
The results suggest that transferring parts of subsidies to the non-fertilizer sectors could be considered an efficient way to redistribute welfare indifferent sectors.
Originality/value
This study first use the equilibrium displacement model to quantity the distribution of fertilizer subsidy in a vertical market in China.
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Abstract
Purpose
Despite the growing body of empirical research on leader anger expressions, the issue of how and when leader anger expressions shape newcomers’ proactive career behavior and work alienation in the construction industry has been largely overlooked. Building upon social information processing theory, this research identifies newcomers’ organization-based self-esteem as a mediator, and suggests that newcomers’ performance goal orientation could moderate the relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire study was conducted on the construction industry in China, and the PROCESS program developed by Hayes was used to test the hypothetical model with 215 valid cases.
Findings
The results suggest that leader anger expressions are negatively associated with newcomers’ organization-based self-esteem, and organization-based self-esteem mediated the link between leader anger expressions and newcomers’ proactive career behavior and work alienation. Furthermore, the newcomers’ performance goal orientation moderates the negative impact of leader anger expressions on newcomers’ organization-based self-esteem.
Research limitations/implications
Due to the cross-sectional nature of this study, causal implications are difficult to draw. Moreover, all data we received was based on participant self-reports, which may raise concerns about common method variance.
Originality/value
In this paper, we contribute to a deeper understanding of the mediating mechanisms and boundary conditions by which leader anger expressions influence newcomers’ proactive career behavior and work alienation from social information processing perspective, in addition to providing valuable insights for management of newcomers in the construction industry.
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Zhenduo Zhang, Yifei Shen, Mengxi Yang and Junwei Zheng
Considering the potential economic losses this might bring about, researchers have begun to explore ways to mitigate procrastination. Drawing on the job demands-resources model…
Abstract
Purpose
Considering the potential economic losses this might bring about, researchers have begun to explore ways to mitigate procrastination. Drawing on the job demands-resources model and the spillover-crossover model, this study aims to investigate the association between harmonious passion and procrastination at the intra- and interpersonal levels.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a two-wave multisource questionnaire survey to acquire 256 cases nested in 128 coworker dyads from two hotels in Shanghai. Multilevel analysis and the actor–partner interdependence model were adopted to examine the hypotheses.
Findings
The results indicate that employees’ harmonious passion is indirectly negatively associated with procrastination (i.e., cyberslacking and soldiering) through workplace well-being at the intrapersonal level; employees’ harmonious passion is indirectly negatively associated with their coworkers’ procrastination (i.e., cyberslacking and soldiering) through the coworkers’ workplace well-being; and the crossover influence of employees’ harmonious passion on coworkers’ workplace well-being is contingent upon interpersonal conflict at the dyadic level, such that the crossover influence is stronger in condition of low rather than high interpersonal conflict.
Practical implications
Hotels are suggested to provide training programs to employees for enhancing their capabilities to maintain harmonious passion and promote their communication skills to decrease the likelihood to experience interpersonal conflict.
Originality/value
This study offers a comprehensive insight into the association between harmonious passion and procrastination in hospitality employees, which extends the understanding of the outcomes of harmonious passion and the profit of harmonious passion at the interpersonal level.
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Abstract
Purpose
Despite the increasing importance of boundary-spanning behaviors in construction projects, the research on how leader anger expressions impact employees’ boundary-spanning behaviors remains unclear. This study aims to investigate the impact of leader anger expressions on employees’ boundary-spanning behaviors in construction projects while exploring the mediating effect of work hope and the moderating effect of power distance orientation through the lens of social information processing theory.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical data were collected from a questionnaire survey of 235 employees in construction projects, and the hypotheses were tested using the PROCESS program developed by Hayes.
Findings
This study demonstrated that leader anger expressions negatively affect employees’ work hope, and work hope mediates the relationship between leader anger expressions and employees’ boundary-spanning behaviors. Besides, the stronger the employees’ power distance orientation, the stronger the negative relationship between leader anger expressions and employees’ work hope, and the above mediating effect was also stronger.
Research limitations/implications
The use of cross-sectional data was unable to entirely infer a causal relationship between leader anger expressions and employees’ boundary-spanning behaviors. Additionally, the reliance on self-reported data inevitably introduced some common method bias.
Originality/value
Applying social information processing theory, this paper enriches the discourse on factors influencing employees’ boundary-spanning behaviors in construction projects. It also offers valuable insights for leaders in construction projects to manage their teams effectively.
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Yaxin Ma, Hong Zhang, Yifei Gao, Zhengxing Men, Ling He and Jianguo Cao
This paper aims to investigate the reason for natural gas leakage from transmission pipelines between Linyi and Shouguang in China during sealing tests, explore the failure…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the reason for natural gas leakage from transmission pipelines between Linyi and Shouguang in China during sealing tests, explore the failure mechanism and provide a reference for taking reasonable measures to prevent such accidents.
Design/methodology/approach
Failure analysis for the steel pipe has been addressed with different methods, such as microstructure analysis, inclusion analysis, corrosion product analysis, macro- and micro-morphology analyses and bacterially catalyzed experiments.
Findings
Several bulges were observed, especially at the bottom of the steel pipe sample, with the distribution and positioning not related to the weld. The inner surface of the steel pipe was severely corroded, and the oxide scale was flaking in many places. The greatest corrosion area was identified at the bottom of the steel pipe near the gas leakage point. Severe pitting and perforation corrosion in the pipeline were observed, and the main corrosion reaction products were Fe3O4, FeO and FeS. The grain orientation distribution near the crack (coarse grains <101> and fine grains <111> at the microcrack tip) indicates that fine grains may be beneficial in hindering crack propagation.
Originality/value
The principal mechanism for the corrosion failure is supposed to be due to the interaction of chloride ions with the sulfate-reducing microorganisms present and the stress corrosion cracking by chloride and sulfide formed by the sulfate-reducing microorganisms.
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The purpose of this paper is to provide a structured literature review (SLR) and systematic insight into logistics outsourcing research, in order to identify gaps in knowledge…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a structured literature review (SLR) and systematic insight into logistics outsourcing research, in order to identify gaps in knowledge, and provide future research direction in the logistics outsourcing discipline.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper identifies and synthesises information from academic journals and examines research designs and methods, data analysis techniques, geographic locations, industry engagements, year of publication, publishers, university and author affiliations. A collection of online databases from 1991 to 2016 were explored, using the keywords “third-party”, “logistics” and “outsourcing” in their title and/or abstract, to deliver an inclusive listing of journal articles in this discipline area. Based on this approach, a total of 263 articles were found and data were derived from a succession of variables.
Findings
There has been a significant increase and concentration by researchers over the past 25 years focussing on logistics outsourcing. A need to implement best practice has been universally identified, owing to increasing global supply chain complexity. This analysis shows that only seven literature reviews were published in the logistics outsourcing discipline. Additionally, this study revealed that 42 per cent of the work in this field was found to be survey based and this trend in research indicates the development of the structural equation modelling and multi-criterion decision-making methods. Investigations between 2010–2012 and 2015–2016 accounted for 151 of the total 263 articles published. Finally, reverse logistics is an area that requires special attention.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is limited to a review of academic articles obtainable from online databases, containing the words “logistics” and “outsourcing” in the title and/or abstract. Additionally, only papers from high quality, peer-reviewed journals were evaluated. Other academic sources such as books and conference papers were not included in this study.
Originality/value
This review will provide an increased understanding of the existing state of current research, trends and future research directions in the logistics outsourcing discipline.
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Xiao Meng, Chengjun Dai, Yifei Zhao and Yuan Zhou
This study aims to investigate the mechanism of the misinformation spread based on the elaboration likelihood model and the effects of four factors – emotion, topic, authority and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the mechanism of the misinformation spread based on the elaboration likelihood model and the effects of four factors – emotion, topic, authority and richness – on the depth, breadth and structural virality of misinformation spread.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected 2,514 misinformation microblogs and 142,006 reposts from Weibo, used deep learning methods to identify the emotions and topics of misinformation and extracted the structural characteristics of the spreading network using the network analysis method.
Findings
Results show that misinformation has a smaller spread size and breadth than true news but has a similar spread depth and structural virality. The differential influence of emotions on the structural characteristics of misinformation propagation was found: sadness can promote the breadth of misinformation spread, anger can promote depth and disgust can promote depth and structural virality. In addition, the international topic, the number of followers, images and videos can significantly and positively influence the misinformation's spread size, depth, breadth and structural virality.
Originality/value
The influencing factors of the structural characteristics of misinformation propagation are clarified, which is helpful for the detection and management of misinformation.
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Baofeng Huo, Qianwen Wang, Xiande Zhao and Zhongsheng Hua
The purpose of this paper is to investigate effects of two integrative mechanisms of third-party logistics (3PL) integration (i.e. information sharing and process coordination…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate effects of two integrative mechanisms of third-party logistics (3PL) integration (i.e. information sharing and process coordination) between users and providers on relationship satisfaction, and further explores how partnership-surrounding (e.g. legal unprotectability) and partnership-specific barriers (e.g. measurement difficulty and cooperation difficulty) influence 3PL integration in the context of Chinese 3PL practices.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data collected from 247 3PL users in China, this study uses the structural equation modeling method to empirically examine the relationship among partnership-surrounding/specific barriers, 3PL integration and relationship satisfaction.
Findings
The results show that information sharing has no significant effect on relationship satisfaction, while process coordination has a positive effect on relationship satisfaction and partially mediates the relationship between information sharing and relationship satisfaction. Furthermore, as partnership-specific barrier, measurement difficulty and cooperation difficulty are negatively related to information sharing and process coordination. Surprisingly, as partnership-surrounding barrier, legal unprotectability is not significantly related to information sharing but is positively related to process coordination.
Originality/value
As a comprehensive study on 3PL user-provider relationship in China, this study extends existing 3PL literature by providing evidence about the importance of 3PL integration and different types of barriers to 3PL integration, also providing managerial implications for 3PL users, providers, law and regulation makers about how to better implement 3PL integration in China.
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Yaqiao Liu, Yifei Liang and Yilan Guo
The marketisation of higher education fosters the notion of students as consumers, highlighting the shifting dynamics of student–teacher relationships. This paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
The marketisation of higher education fosters the notion of students as consumers, highlighting the shifting dynamics of student–teacher relationships. This paper aims to contribute to ongoing discussions about students as consumers and their involvement in pedagogical practices. We explore students’ experiences in short-term study abroad (SA) programmes that involve collaborative learning, examining how a consumerism-oriented approach affects students’ perceptions of their pedagogical identities and student–teacher pedagogical relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative exploratory study was conducted to capture students’ rich and subjective perceptions and experiences. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 15 Chinese undergraduate students who participated in a short-term SA programme at a UK university. Following data translation and transcription, a thematic analysis approach facilitated our exploration.
Findings
Chinese students engage in SA programmes as a strategic investment in personal growth and transformation, with their consumer-oriented identity fostering a mutually beneficial relationship with educators and group members. This consumer mindset appears to enhance active student engagement and, to some extent, create reciprocal student–teacher interactions through power sharing and collaborative involvement.
Originality/value
This study presents empirical data exploring the impact of consumer identity on the dynamics of student–teacher relationships in the SA context. It provides recommendations for implementing pedagogical approaches designed to mediate the influence of consumerism on student engagement, particularly in shaping collaborative student–teacher relationships. This study offers insights for future research on the effects of consumerism in higher education within cross-cultural contexts.