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The under-loading cascading failure model: a tool for assessing the vulnerability of SME cooperation networks

Hang Yin (School of Economics and Management, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, China)
Jishan Hou (School of Economics and Management, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, China)
Chengju Gong (School of Economics and Management, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, China)
Chen Xu (College of Shipbuilding, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, China)

Kybernetes

ISSN: 0368-492X

Article publication date: 9 March 2023

115

Abstract

Purpose

The behavior of the entities in a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) cooperation network is influenced by the core enterprise. Addressing the problem of how the network vulnerability changes when the core enterprise is attacked is a challenging topic. The purpose of this paper is to reveal the failure process of SME cooperation networks caused by the failure of the core SME from the perspective of cascading failure.

Design/methodology/approach

According to the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center, Ministry of Science & Technology in China, 296 SMEs in Jiangsu province were used to construct an SME cooperation network of technology-based SMEs and an under-loading cascading failure model. The weight-based attack strategy was selected to mimic a deliberate node attack and was used to analyze the vulnerability of the SME cooperation network.

Findings

Some important conclusions are obtained from the simulation analysis: (1) The minimum boundary of node enterprises has a negative relationship with networks' invulnerability, while the breakdown probability has an inverted-U relationship with networks' invulnerability. (2) The combined effect of minimum boundary and breakdown probability indicates that the vulnerability of networks is mainly determined by the breakdown probability; while, minimum boundary helps prevent cascading failure occur. Furthermore, according to the case study, adapting capital needs and resilience in the cooperation network is the core problem in improving the robustness of SME cooperation networks.

Originality/value

This research proposed an under-loading cascading failure model to investigate the under-loading failure process caused by the shortage of resources when the core enterprise fails or withdraws from the SME cooperation network. Two key parameters in the proposed model—minimum capacity and breakdown probability—could serve as a guide for research on the vulnerability of SME cooperation networks. Additionally, practical meanings for each parameter in the proposed model are given, to suggest novel insights regarding network protection to facilitate the robustness and vulnerability in real SME cooperation networks.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors sincerely thank the editor and the three anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on how to improve the quality of this paper.

Funding: This research is supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 71872057 and 72074059) and National Social Science Foundation (No. 20AGL009).

Citation

Yin, H., Hou, J., Gong, C. and Xu, C. (2023), "The under-loading cascading failure model: a tool for assessing the vulnerability of SME cooperation networks", Kybernetes, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-12-2022-1651

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

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