Ting Ren, Nan Liu, Hongyan Yang, Youzhi Xiao and Yijun Hu
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between working capital management (WCM) and firm performance in the context of the Chinese economy. Specifically, it…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between working capital management (WCM) and firm performance in the context of the Chinese economy. Specifically, it investigates the effects of ownership structures as an internal factor and of institutional environments (IE) as an external factor shaping this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The study applies two-way fixed effect regression models to a sample of Chinese listed manufacturing firms for the period of 2010 to 2017. WCM is measured by cash conversion cycles (CCC); profitability is measured by core profit ratios; ownership structures are classified based on state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and non-SOEs; and IEs are measured from dimensions of factor markets (FM) and legal systems (LS).
Findings
First, the results show a negative relationship between CCC and firm performance. Second, the negative relationship between CCC and profitability is significant for non-SOEs but not for SOEs. Third, both the FM and LS strengthen the negative association between CCC and profitability. Fourth, the moderating effect of FMs and LSs is evident for non-SOEs only. The results hold when using alternative measures of WCM and profitability and while controlling for additional variables.
Originality/value
The current study shows that while WCM has a significant effect on the profitability of Chinese firms, such an effect greatly depends on the ownership structures and IE involved. The results thus offer important implications in helping the Chinese government create better IEs and in allowing manufacturing firms to improve upon their WCM practices.
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Xiaoguang Wang, Yijun Gao and Zhuoyao Lu
Microblogs are communication platforms for companies and consumers that challenge companies' brand marketing strategies. This paper provides a theoretical basis for expanding…
Abstract
Purpose
Microblogs are communication platforms for companies and consumers that challenge companies' brand marketing strategies. This paper provides a theoretical basis for expanding microblog applications and a practical basis for improving the effectiveness of brand marketing.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use factor analysis to extract the factors of microblog user influence and construct a structural equation model to reveal the interaction mechanism of the influencing factors. Additionally, the authors clarify the promotion and enhancement effects of these factors.
Findings
Microblog user influence can be converted into richness, interaction and value factors. The richness factor significantly affects the latter two, whereas the interaction factor does not affect the value factor.
Research limitations/implications
First, the sample used is limited to media industry practitioners. To increase generalizability, diverse groups should be included in future studies. Second, this model's theoretical explanatory ability can be further developed by adding other meaningful factors beyond the existing ones.
Originality/value
This study analyzes the factors of microblog user influence in China and validates the relevant elements. As a result, it improves the influence research on social media users and benefits the practice of information recommendation and microblog marketing.
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Salamatu Bellah Conteh and Yijun Yuan
An important objective of human resource (HR) research is to understand how HR practices can influence employee attitudes and behaviors in order to help achieve organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
An important objective of human resource (HR) research is to understand how HR practices can influence employee attitudes and behaviors in order to help achieve organizational goals via employee performance. The paper studies the relationship between High Performance Work System (HPWS) and employee service performance (ESP) via organizational support (OS) and organizational identification (OI). On one hand, this may help understand the “black box” between HPWS practices and ESP. On the other hand, while OS refers to employees' evaluations of favorable treatment from the organization and HPWS represent a significant channel the organization uses to communicate its support to employees, OS and OI literatures have not comprehensively examined the effect of HPWS practices on employee OS and OI beliefs.
Design/methodology/approach
This study takes a quantitative approach and employs hierarchical regression from a sample of 467 employees in 10 commercial banks in Sierra Leone.
Findings
The results show a positive relationship between HPWS practices and ESP and at the same time OS and OI partially mediate the relationship, suggesting that employees draw inferences from the HPWS-related treatment they receive in assessing the supportiveness of the organization.
Research limitations/implications
In this study, the authors put forth an innovative conceptual model of performance management by testing the relationships which have not been tested before, especially in a new context of banking industry in Sierra Leone. By implementing HPWS practices that demonstrate the organization cares about the employees' well-being and values their contribution, organizations are likely to be perceived as offering high levels of support for the employees.
Originality/value
The results of this study add to our knowledge about the antecedents of OS and OI. Moreover, while OS and OI research has been largely rooted in the organizational behavior literature, this study bridges the human resource literature and the organizational behavior literature, by combining HPWS, OS, OI and ESP.
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Anurag Shukla and Tarun Kashni
This paper aims to undertake an evaluation of the research development and works associated with banking frauds and scams.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to undertake an evaluation of the research development and works associated with banking frauds and scams.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors have conducted bibliometric analysis of 288 studies on issues of banking frauds and scams, published up to August 4, 2024 using Scopus and the VOS viewer software.
Findings
This study disseminates top influential authors, countries, journals, papers, funding institutions and affiliations relating to banking frauds and scams. Generally, although a great deal of work has been accomplished in this area, there are prominent gaps in such findings.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first comprehensive review of extant research relating to banking frauds and scams. It hence represents an original piece of work in applying bibliometric analysis to this topic area, offering valuable insights for practitioners and academics who seek to understand more about banking frauds and scams risks.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore undergraduate students’ use of mobile apps to search library catalogs and analyze the problems students encountered. Student opinions and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore undergraduate students’ use of mobile apps to search library catalogs and analyze the problems students encountered. Student opinions and suggestions regarding mobile library apps were also examined.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 16 undergraduates were observed and subjected to semi-structured interviews. Four tasks were assigned, and the participants used mobile apps and laptops to search library catalogs. Follow-up in-depth interviews were conducted to gather participants’ opinions regarding the mobile library app.
Findings
Among the 64 total searches conducted by the 16 participants, 45 (70.31 percent) were completed when using the mobile app, and 51 (79.69 percent) were completed using the laptop. Participants spent less time completing the tasks when they used the mobile app. Mobile apps are thus an effective tool for searching library catalogs. However, the interviews revealed that none of the participants had used mobile library apps prior to the interviews conducted in this study, and half of the participants expressed that they would not install library apps on their smartphones in the future.
Originality/value
The study findings may help university libraries improve their understanding about undergraduates’ search behavior and opinions about mobile library apps.
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Haytham Yaseen Alawi, Jayendira P. Sankar, Mahmood Ali Akbar and Vinodh Kesavaraj Natarajan
This study aims to examine the relationship between polychronicity, job autonomy, perceived workload, work–family conflict and high work demand on the health-care employee…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the relationship between polychronicity, job autonomy, perceived workload, work–family conflict and high work demand on the health-care employee turnover intention during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted quantitative research in private hospitals using a self-administered questionnaire, and 264 respondents participated. The authors also used an analysis of moment structures to determine the relationship between independent and moderating variables.
Findings
The results show a significant positive relationship between polychronicity, job autonomy, perceived workload, work–family conflict and high work demand, affecting turnover intention. This study also found the moderating effect of high work demand on work–family conflict and turnover intention.
Research limitations/implications
This research was limited to hospitals in Bahrain during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the findings highlight the factors associated with health-care employee turnover intention and only five factors were identified.
Practical implications
This study enhances the theoretical and practical effects of turnover intention. The results provide a competitive benchmark for hospital managers, administrators and governing bodies of employee retention.
Social implications
It advances economics and management theory by enhancing the understanding of health-care employees’ turnover intention in Bahrain. It serves as a basis for future large-scale studies to test or refine existing theories.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to adopt extrinsic variables in self-determination theory to measure the turnover intention of health-care employees. However, using resources in a crisis can be applied to any disaster.
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Li-Xiang Wang, Da-Hai Xia, Shi-Zhe Song, Yashar Behnamian and Likun Xu
This paper aims to quantify atmospheric corrosion by image analyses. The corrosion extent, form and distribution of corrosion product on Q235B and T91 steels exposed to a Zhoushan…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to quantify atmospheric corrosion by image analyses. The corrosion extent, form and distribution of corrosion product on Q235B and T91 steels exposed to a Zhoushan marine atmosphere over one year are characterized by image analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
Image analysis of corrosion images were achieved using the gray value, wavelet analysis and fuzzy Kolmogorov–Sinai (K–S) entropy.
Findings
As corrosion becomes extensive, the gray value of corrosion images decreases, and the energy value of nine subimages after wavelength decomposition decreases. Fuzzy K–S entropy increases as localized corrosion propagates but decreases as uniform corrosion spreads.
Originality/value
The methods proposed in this work open a new way for fast corrosion evaluation of metallic materials exposed to atmospheric conditions.
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Pritpal Singh Bhullar, Mahesh Joshi, Sharad Sharma, Duc Hong Thi Phan and Anh Lan Nguyen
The purpose of the current study is to contribute to the existing body of knowledge by understanding the rationale, benefits and consequences of taxing cryptocurrency…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the current study is to contribute to the existing body of knowledge by understanding the rationale, benefits and consequences of taxing cryptocurrency transactions. This study investigates where taxation and cryptocurrencies meet from an investment standpoint.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive bibliometric study was conducted to offer a thorough examination of the published literature in the last decade pertaining to the intersection of cryptocurrencies and taxation across nations. This study provides an analysis of citation patterns, prominent authors, publication trends and thematic clusters by applying VOSviewer and R-studio.
Findings
The results indicate a tendency in the existing literature to address the taxes concerns associated with cryptocurrency transactions. The findings demonstrate that cryptocurrency taxation discrepancies across countries create tax evasion, transaction risks and market uncertainties.
Practical implications
The report provides a theoretical framework for policymakers and financial experts to create a global cryptocurrency tax regime. The study emphasizes the need to incorporate technology start-ups to mitigate public safety and security risks, strengthen financial systems and provide regulators with necessary supervision.
Originality/value
The study provides an extensive on taxation issues such as tax evasion and money laundering in the context of cryptocurrency. There has been no prior effort to explore this research domain so deeply and provide comprehensive details on cryptocurrency.
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Zhixiong Chen, Weishan Long, Li Song and Xinglin Li
This paper aims to research the tribological and dynamic characteristics of aeroengine hybrid ceramic bearings through wear experiments and simulation analysis.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to research the tribological and dynamic characteristics of aeroengine hybrid ceramic bearings through wear experiments and simulation analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the authors carried out wear experiments on Si3N4–GCr15 and GCr15–GCr15 friction pairs through the ball-disc wear test rig to explore the tribological properties of their materials. Second, using ANSYS/LS-DYNA simulation software, the dynamic simulation analysis of hybrid bearings was carried out under certain working conditions, and the dynamic contact stress of all-steel bearings of the same size was simulated and compared. Finally, the change of the maximum contact stress of the main bearing under the change of load and rotation speed was studied.
Findings
The results show that the Si3N4–GCr15 pair has better tribological performance. At the same time, under the conditions of high speed and heavy load, the simulation analysis shows that the contact stress between the ceramic ball and the raceway of the ring is smaller than the steel ball. That is, hybrid bearings have better transient mechanical properties than all-steel bearings. With the speed increasing to 12,000 r/min, the maximum stress point will shift in the inner and outer rings.
Originality/value
In this study, the tribological and transient mechanical properties of Si3N4 material were comprehensively analyzed through wear experiments and dynamic simulation analysis, which provided a reference for the design of hybrid bearings for next-generation aeroengines.