Search results
21 – 30 of 213Zhongqiu Li, Chao Ma, Xue Zhang and Qiming Guo
Meaningful feedback at work signals effective performance management. Drawing on a new perspective of the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this paper aims to examine the…
Abstract
Purpose
Meaningful feedback at work signals effective performance management. Drawing on a new perspective of the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this paper aims to examine the mediating effect of relational energy in the relationship between supervisor developmental feedback and subordinates' task performance with the moderating role of learning demands.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from 230 supervisor-subordinate dyads were collected at two time points of four enterprises in China.
Findings
The results support the proposed mediation effect that supervisor developmental feedback positively predicts subordinates' task performance via boosting subordinates' relational energy. Furthermore, the results highlighted the moderating role of learning demands in the relationship between supervisor developmental feedback and subordinates' relational energy. The moderated–mediated relationship for subordinates' task performance was also supported.
Originality/value
Drawing on COR theory, this paper contributes to a complete understanding of how supervisor developmental feedback may support or build employees' relational energy, facilitating task performance and further exploring learning demands as a boundary condition of this indirect relationship.
Details
Keywords
This rejoinder aims to critique some of the perspectives in Chen’s (2018) study on hospitality and host–guest paradigm in China.
Abstract
Purpose
This rejoinder aims to critique some of the perspectives in Chen’s (2018) study on hospitality and host–guest paradigm in China.
Design/methodology/approach
In this preliminary probe into Chen’s study, critical analysis is performed on Chen’s approaches, whereas document analysis is applied to the relevant ancient Chinese writings. Translations are the author’s own unless indicated otherwise.
Findings
Chen’s views are problematic and supported by patchy evidence. “Hierarchy principle” and “host-centric foundation” do not hold up. In a series of asymmetrical comparisons, Chen goes a bit too far in arguing for uniqueness.
Originality/value
This rejoinder presents valid critiques of Chen’s study, thus directing future research in the right direction. It is of some significance to clarify Chen’s misrepresentations and offer a truer and fuller account of Chinese hospitality, given the difficulty for international scholars to validate Chen’s views because of language barrier and cultural unfamiliarity.
Details
Keywords
Hsiu-Yuan Tsao, Ming-Yi Chen, Hao-Chiang Koong Lin and Yu-Chun Ma
The basic assumption is that there is a symmetric relationship between review valence and rating, but what if review valence and rating were linked asymmetrically? There are few…
Abstract
Purpose
The basic assumption is that there is a symmetric relationship between review valence and rating, but what if review valence and rating were linked asymmetrically? There are few studies which have investigated the situations in which positive and negative online reviews exert different influences on ratings. This study considers brand strength as having an important moderating role because the average rating of existing reviews for a particular product is a heuristic cue for decision makers. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to argue that an asymmetric relationship between review content valence and numerical rating will depend on brand strength.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors have conducted a sentiment analysis via text mining, using self-developed computer programs to retrieve a data set from the TripAdvisor website.
Findings
This study finds there is an asymmetric relationship between review valence (verbal) and numerical rating. The authors further find brand strength to have an important moderating role. For a stronger brand, negative review content will have a greater impact on numerical ratings than positive review content, while for a weaker brand, positive review content will have a greater impact on numerical ratings than negative review content.
Practical implications
Marketers could adopt sentiment analysis via text mining of online reviews as a valid measure or predictor of consumer satisfaction or numerical ratings. Strong brands should direct more attention to negative reviews, because in such reviews the negative impact transcends the positive. In contrast, weak brands should aim to exploit as many positive reviews as possible to minimize the impact of any negative reviews.
Originality/value
This study finds there is an asymmetric relationship between review valence (verbal) and numerical rating and considers brand strength to play an important moderating role. The authors have used real data from the TripAdvisor website, which allow people to express themselves in an unsolicited manner, and linked these with the results from the sentiment analysis.
Details
Keywords
Yung-Cheng Shen, Heng-Yu Lin, Cindy Yunhsin Chou, Po Han Wu and Wei-Hao Yang
This study investigates the role of source familiarity in moderating the effect of service adaptive behavior (SAB) on customer satisfaction. Applying the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the role of source familiarity in moderating the effect of service adaptive behavior (SAB) on customer satisfaction. Applying the accessibility–diagnosticity framework and situated cognition theory as the theoretical basis, this research hypothesizes that when customers are familiar with the source that provides the service (i.e. brand familiarity for Study 1 and personal familiarity for Study 2), customer satisfaction responses to SAB would be more moderate than when customers are not familiar with the source. Two studies were conducted to test the hypotheses.
Design/methodology/approach
Two experiments manipulating SAB and the brand name familiarity (Study 1) and personal familiarity with the service staff (Study 2) as the source familiarity were conducted. Customer satisfaction as a function of source familiarity was measured to test the hypothesis that source familiarity moderates the relationship between SAB and customer satisfaction.
Findings
Compared to unfamiliar sources, familiar sources generated a more moderate response in customer satisfaction as a function of SAB. High familiarity with the brand and service staff induced top-down, memory-based processing that overrides external stimuli as the basis of satisfaction judgment; bottom-up, stimulus-based processing relying on SAB for judgment kicked in only when the source familiarity is low.
Practical implications
From a practical point of view, this study indicates the importance of SAB, especially for brands with low awareness, and alludes to the comparative importance of relationship building in service delivery processes.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by validating the role of contextual factors in influencing the impact of SAB on customer satisfaction.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to provide the historical background of genealogical records and analyze the value of Chinese genealogical research through the study of names and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide the historical background of genealogical records and analyze the value of Chinese genealogical research through the study of names and genealogical resources.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper examines the historical evolution and value of Chinese genealogical records, with the focus on researching the Islamic Chinese names used by the people living in Guilin. The highlight of this paper includes the analysis and evolution of the Islamic Chinese names commonly adopted by the local people in Guilin. It concludes with the recommendations on emphasizing and making the best use of genealogical records to enhance the research value of Chinese overseas studies.
Findings
The paper covers the history of Islam and describes how the religion was introduced into China, as well as Muslims' ethnicity and identity. It also places focus on the importance of building a research collection in Asian history and Chinese genealogy.
Research limitations/implications
This research study has a strong subject focus on Chinese genealogy, Asian history, and Islamic Chinese surnames. It is a narrow field that few researchers have delved into.
Practical implications
The results of this study will assist students, researchers, and the general public in tracing the origin of their surnames and developing their interest in the social and historical value of Chinese local history and genealogies.
Social implications
The study of Chinese surnames is, by itself, a particular field for researching the social and political implications of contemporary Chinese society during the time the family members lived.
Originality/value
Very little research has been done in the area of Chinese local history and genealogy. The paper would be of value to researchers such as historians, sociologists, ethnologists and archaeologists, as well as students and anyone interested in researching a surname origin, its history and evolution.
Details
Keywords
In his autobiography, Chen Shui-bian (1999, p. 40) condemned the Koumintang's (KMT's) corruption and praised the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for being free from money…
Abstract
In his autobiography, Chen Shui-bian (1999, p. 40) condemned the Koumintang's (KMT's) corruption and praised the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for being free from money politics and corruption. The DPP fought the 1992 Legislative Yuan election campaign effectively on an anticorruption platform and used the same strategy in subsequent elections. If Chen Shui-bian had criticized the KMT for its involvement with “black gold” politics and had won the 2000 presidential election on his anticorruption platform, why was he and his family found guilty of corruption after his second term of office? The short answer is that even though he had promised to curb corruption, President Chen himself had succumbed to corruption after assuming office. In June 2002, Keesing's Contemporary Archives cited a poll in Taiwan that indicated that more respondents had perceived the DPP to be more corrupt than the KMT (Copper, 2006, p. 14).
Zhong Li, Qing Lei, Luyao Huang and Chao Liu
Low-alloy structural steels (LASS) face severe microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) in their service environments. To mitigate this issue, Cu is often used as an alloying…
Abstract
Purpose
Low-alloy structural steels (LASS) face severe microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) in their service environments. To mitigate this issue, Cu is often used as an alloying element owing to its intrinsic antimicrobial activity. However, the antibacterial performance and biofilm resistance of Cu-containing LASS (Cu-LASS) are still unclear. This study aims to analyze the effect of Cu addition to 420 MP LASS on its MIC by the Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm.
Design/methodology/approach
Scanning electron microscope, confocal laser scanning microscope and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to analyze the surface morphology and composition of corrosion products. The antibacterial activities of Cu-LASS were analyzed by the spread-plate method. In addition, electrochemical analysis was conducted to characterize the corrosion behavior of the produced alloy.
Findings
Bacterial analysis and morphological observation confirmed a reduced sessile cell count and inactivation of the P. aeruginosa biofilm on the surface of Cu-LASS coupons. Electrochemical measurements showed that Cu-LASS exhibited large polarization and charge-transfer resistances, which indicated excellent MIC resistance. This significantly enhanced resistance to MIC could be explained by the synergistic effect of released Cu2+ from the Cu-LASS surface and immediate contact to Cu-rich phase in the surface and the release of Cu2+ ions from the Cu-LASS surface.
Originality/value
The effect of Cu addition on the MIC resistance and antibacterial performance of LASS is seldom reported. It is necessary to investigate the corrosion resistance of Cu-LASS and clarify its antibacterial mechanism. This paper fulfills this need.
Details
Keywords
Wayne A. Hochwarter, Ilias Kapoutsis, Samantha L. Jordan, Abdul Karim Khan and Mayowa Babalola
Persistent change has placed considerable pressure on organizations to keep up or fade into obscurity. Firms that remain viable, or even thrive, are staffed with decision-makers…
Abstract
Persistent change has placed considerable pressure on organizations to keep up or fade into obscurity. Firms that remain viable, or even thrive, are staffed with decision-makers who capably steer organizations toward opportunities and away from threats. Accordingly, leadership development has never been more critical. In this chapter, the authors propose that leader development is an inherently dyadic process initiated to communicate formal and informal expectations. The authors focus on the informal component, in the form of organizational politics, as an element of leadership that is critical to employee and company success. The authors advocate that superiors represent the most salient information source for leader development, especially as it relates to political dynamics embedded in work systems. The authors discuss research associated with our conceptualization of dyadic political leader development (DPLD). Specifically, the authors develop DPLD by exploring its conceptual underpinnings as they relate to sensemaking, identity, and social learning theories. Once established, the authors provide a refined discussion of the construct, illustrating its scholarly mechanisms that better explain leader development processes and outcomes. The authors then expand research in the areas of political skill, political will, political knowledge, and political phronesis by embedding our conceptualization of DPLD into a political leadership model. The authors conclude by discussing methodological issues and avenues of future research stemming from the development of DPLD.
Details
Keywords
Chao Liu, Mingyang Yang, Haoyu Han and Wenping Yue
To study fracture characteristics of jointed rock masses under blasting load, the RFPA2D analysis software for dynamic fracture of rocks based on the finite element method and…
Abstract
Purpose
To study fracture characteristics of jointed rock masses under blasting load, the RFPA2D analysis software for dynamic fracture of rocks based on the finite element method and statistical damage theory was used.
Design/methodology/approach
On this basis, this research simulated the fracture process of rock masses in blasting with different joint geometrical characteristics and mainly analysed the influences of distance from joints to blasting holes, the length of joints, the number of joints and joint angle on fracture of rock masses.
Findings
The calculation results show that with the constant increase of the distance from joints to blasting holes, the influences of joints on blasting effects of rock masses gradually reduced. Rock masses with long joints experienced more serious damages than those with short joints. Damages obviously increased with the changing from rock masses without joints to rock masses with joints, and when there were three joints, the further increase of the number of joints had unobvious changes on blasting effects of rock masses. Joints showed significant guidance effect on the propagation of cracks in blasting: promoting propagation of main vertical cracks deflecting to the ends of joints.
Originality/value
The research results are expected to provide some theoretical bases in practical application of engineering blasting.
Details
Keywords
Abstract
Purpose
In recent decades, related party transactions have been assailed by scholars and regulation authorities since related parties of a listed company may “tunnel” its resources, damaging the interests of other stakeholders. One kind of “tunneling” is capital impropriation, which is common but harmful in an emerging market where investor protection is weak. In contrast, a listed company may also impropriate capitals from its controlling business group or related parties reported as accrued liabilities in the financial statement of the listed company, which can be regarded as the “supporting hand” from related parties. Thus, the capital impropriation may be bidirectional. In fact, the capital impropriation is a financing behavior with low cost, and it can provide necessary working capital for some firms and reduce that for the other. Since the working capital is an important part of the firm's stock of capital, which can relax firms' short‐run financing constraints, it may significantly influence firms' capital investment behaviors. Therefore, how does the bilateral capital impropriation influences the capital investment of listed firms?
Design/methodology/approach
Using the data of Chinese listed firms in 2005 and 2006, this paper empirically investigates the effect of bidirectional capital impropriation on listed firms' capital investment efficiency.
Findings
Receivable items like accounting receivable or other accruals that related parties owe to the listed firms will reduce the capital expenditure of listed companies and reduce the sensitivity of investment‐cash flow relation. Actually, capital impropriation by listed firms may stimulate their capital investments and increase the sensitivity of investment‐cash since listed firms obtain capitals for future investments at a lower cost. In all, the bidirectional capital impropriation significantly affects the capital investment and sensitivity of investment‐cash flow of listed firms, and different direction of capital impropriation will lead to different investment efficiency. It should also be noted that capital impropriation is not necessarily something negative since it may sometimes reduce the overinvestment.
Originality/value
The paper provides more evidence to the capital investment of listed companies and identifies the factors influencing its efficiency from the perspective of bidirectional capital impropriation.
Details