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This research was aimed at investigating the fire performance of LSF wall systems by using 3-D heat transfer FE models of existing LSF wall system configurations.

This research was focused on investigating the fire performance of LSF wall systems by using 3-D heat transfer finite element models of existing LSF wall system configurations. The analysis results were validated by using the available fire test results of five different LSF wall configurations.

The validated finite element models were used to conduct a parametric study on a range of non-load bearing and load bearing LSF wall configurations to predict their fire resistance levels (FRLs) for varying load ratios.

Fire performance of LSF wall systems with different configurations can be understood by performing full-scale fire tests. However, these full-scale fire tests are time consuming, labour intensive and expensive. On the other hand, finite element analysis (FEA) provides a simple method of investigating the fire performance of LSF wall systems to understand their thermal-mechanical behaviour. Recent numerical research studies have focused on investigating the fire performances of LSF wall systems by using finite element (FE) models. Most of these FE models were developed based on 2-D FE platform capable of performing either heat transfer or structural analysis separately. Therefore, this paper presents the details of a 3-D FEA methodology to develop the capabilities to perform fully-coupled thermal-mechanical analyses of LSF walls exposed to fire in future.

The growing literature on complementarities has drawn attention to how the effects of different organizational structures, practices, and institutions are interdependent. Rather than one best way of organizing, complementarities suggest that the effectiveness of one organizational element may be dependent on the presence or absence of another particular element. Consequently, organizational arrangements often display “multiple equilibria” or what is known as equifinality, whereby multiple pathways may lead to the same or similar outcomes. While being a source of theoretical innovation, the configurational nature of complementarities has posed a number of challenges. This chapter reviews the emerging literature on complementarities to identify a series of conceptual challenges related to understanding complementarities as organizational configurations, and examines the methodological challenges in studying how such elements combine to produce joint effects on performance. The chapter argues that new set-theoretic methods using Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) may present a very useful methodological alternative to studying complementarities. The chapter illustrates this potential by re-analyzing past work by Aoki, Jackson, and Miyajima (2007) on relationships between ownership structure, board structure, and employment practices of listed firms in Japan to show evidence of complementarities associated with hybrid configurations that combine market and relational forms of organization.

A transportation connectivity strategy is a crucial part of an adaptive, congruent and sustainable tourism transportation system and is of concern to countries focusing on growing their tourism economy. This study aims to gain a better understanding of the relationship between transportation connectivity and the tourism economy through a configuration analysis.

This study uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis on a sample of 153 cities in China to provide an understanding of the impacts of transportation connectivity strategies, with the co-effecting factors of socio-economic status, tourism resource endowment and hospitality capacity, on the development of regional tourism economies.

There are multiple paths that lead to regional tourism economic development (a high level of tourist arrivals or a high level of tourism revenue). High-speed rail can play a supportive role, while air travel or traditional rail remains central to the tourism economy. Socio-economic status (i.e. city size and city gross domestic product) and hospitality capacity are identified as crucial influencers for the development of the tourism economy.

This study confirms the validity of deploying configuration analysis (based on the equifinality theory) to establish the relationship between transportation and the tourism economy. The finding of more than one configuration led to a new consensus on how multiple factors influence the tourism economy.

Suggestions on transportation connectivity strategies for different regions are provided.

This study demonstrates the need to place greater emphasis on configurations that lead to tourism economy development instead of the effect of a single transportation mode.

摘要

交通连接策略, 作为打造具备适应性、一致性、可持续性的旅游交通系统的重要环节, 被重视旅游经济增长的国家密切关注。组态分析有助于更好地理解交通连接与旅游经济之间的关系。

本研究以中国的153个城市为样本, 使用模糊集定性比较分析方法（fsQCA）, 研究交通连接策略、社会经济水平、旅游资源禀赋、酒店接待能力等协同因素对区域旅游经济发展的影响。

有多种组态可以导致区域旅游经济的发展（表现为高水平的游客人数或高水平的旅游收入）。航空旅行或传统铁路仍然是影响旅游经济发展的核心条件, 而高铁可以发挥支持作用。社会经济水平(即城市规模和城市生产总值)和酒店接待能力被认为是影响旅游经济发展的关键因素。

本研究证实了应用组态分析（基于等效性理论）建立交通连接策略与旅游经济之间关系的有效性。不唯一的多组态的发现会推动关于多种因素如何影响旅游经济的新共识形成。

本研究针对不同地区提出交通连通策略的建议。

本研究表明, 比起考虑单一交通方式产生的影响, 探索旅游经济发展需要更加重视多种交通连接策略的配置。

Abstracto

Una estrategia de conectividad del transporte es una parte crucial de un sistema de transporte turístico adaptable, congruente y sostenible, y es de interés para los países que se centran en el crecimiento de su economía turística. Un análisis de la configuración puede ayudar a comprender mejor la relación entre la conectividad del transporte y la economía del turismo.

Este estudio utiliza el análisis comparativo cualitativo de conjuntos difusos (fsQCA) en una muestra de 153 ciudades de China para proporcionar una comprensión de los impactos de las estrategias de conectividad del transporte, con los factores coadyuvantes de la situación socioeconómica, la dotación de recursos turísticos y la capacidad de hospitalidad, en el desarrollo de las economías turísticas regionales.

Existen múltiples vías que conducen al desarrollo económico del turismo regional (un alto nivel de llegadas de turistas o un alto nivel de ingresos por turismo). El ferrocarril de alta velocidad puede desempeñar un papel de apoyo, mientras que el transporte aéreo o el ferrocarril tradicional siguen siendo fundamentales para la economía turística. El estatus socioeconómico (es decir, el tamaño de la ciudad y el PIB de la ciudad) y la capacidad de hospitalidad se identifican como factores de influencia cruciales para el desarrollo de la economía del turismo.

Este estudio confirma la validez de utilizar el análisis de configuración (basado en la teoría de la equifinalidad) para establecer la relación entre el transporte y la economía del turismo. El hallazgo de más de una configuración condujo a un nuevo consenso sobre cómo influyen los múltiples factores en la economía del turismo.

Se proporciona una tipología de estrategias de conectividad del transporte para diferentes regiones.

Este estudio demuestra la necesidad de poner mayor énfasis en las configuraciones que conducen al desarrollo de la economía turística en lugar del efecto de un único modo de transporte.

This chapter shows how to construct and test case-based macro models. The chapter makes use of national data to examine influences on quality-of-life of national cultures as complex wholes and entrepreneurship activities in Brazil, Russia, India, China, Germany, and the United States (the six focal nations) plus Denmark (a small-size, economically developed, nation). The study tests McClelland’s (1961) and more recent scholars’ proposition that some cultural configurations nurture entrepreneur startups, while other cultures are biased toward thwarting startups. The study applies complexity theory to develop and empirically test a general theory of cultures’, entrepreneurship’s, and innovation’s impact on quality-of-life across nations. Because culture represents a complex whole of attitudes, beliefs, values, and behavior, the study applies a set-theoretic approach to theory development and testing of alternative cultural configurations. Each of 28 economical developed and developing nations is scored for the level of the national cultures for each of six focal countries. The study selected for the study enables multi-way comparisons of culture-entrepreneurship-innovation-QOL among large- and small-sized developing and developed nations. The findings graphically present the complex national cultural configuration (x-axis) with entrepreneur nurture/thwart (y-axis) of the 28 nations compared to the six focal nations. The findings also include recognizing national cultures (e.g., Switzerland, the United States) nurturing entrepreneurial behavior versus other national cultures (e.g., Brazil and India) thwarting entrepreneurial behavior. The study concludes with a call to recognize the implicit shift in culturally implicit thinking and behavior necessary for advancing national platforms designed to successfully nurture entrepreneurship. Entrepreneur strategy implications include the observation that actions nurturing firm start-ups by nations low in entrepreneurship will unlikely to be successful without reducing such nations’ high levels of corruption.

As purveyors of knowledge-based and high value-added services to the manufacturing sector, industrial service small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must develop the information technology (IT) capabilities that, in combination with other non-IT capabilities, enable their capacity for organizational learning (OL) and for explorative learning in particular. In this context, this study aims to identify the different causal configurations that account for the nonlinear complex interplay of IT capabilities for exploration and strategic capabilities for explorative learning as they affect these firms’ competitive performance.

Survey data obtained from 92 industrial service SMEs were analyzed with a configurational approach, using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).

As it allows for equifinality, the fsQCA analysis identified two sets of causal configurations that characterize the sampled firms’ explorative learning capability as it relates to competitive performance. In the first set, two configurations were equally associated with high innovation performance, whereas in the second set, four configurations were equally associated with high productivity.

By viewing explorative learning as a dynamic capability that is enabled by the firm’s IT and strategic capabilities, the study contributes to OL theory by providing a more concrete or “operational” grounding, which allows for a greater practical applicability of this theory. By taking both the configurational and capability-based views of the OL-IT-performance causal framework, the authors provide an empirical basis for unraveling, explaining and understanding the complex non-linear relationships embedded within this framework.

Through examining the two constructs of inter-organizational complementarity and inter-organizational compatibility in supply chains, the purpose of this paper is to develop a taxonomy of focal firms’ inter-organizational fit (IOF) configurations with their suppliers and customers, and examine the relationship between these configurations and environmental innovation (EI) in order to answer the question of “with whom” to collaborate for EI development.

A survey instrument was elaborated and data from a sample of 171 US firms were collected. The authors adopted cluster analysis to identify the IOF taxonomy. Canonical discriminant analysis was employed to uncover underlying dimensions between clustering variables and cluster membership. Then, ANOVA tests were conducted to investigate relationships between IOF configurations in the context of EI in supply chains.

Three configurations were identified based on the complementarity and compatibility between focal firms and their supply chain partners. It is observed that the overall IOF level is positively related to firms’ EI outcomes. Moreover, inter-organizational complementarity facilitates incremental EI while inter-organizational compatibility plays a more crucial role in radical EI. Both are required to achieve the best innovation outcome.

This research develops the first taxonomy for depicting IOF in a supply chain innovation context and also clarifies different rationale behind the development of incremental and radical EI through examining distinctive effects of the complementarity and compatibility with supply chain partners.

Given the complexity of building information modeling (BIM) adoption decisions in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, understanding BIM adoption decision-making through the net effect of a single factor on BIM adoption decisions alone is limited. Therefore, this paper analyzed the co-movement effect of managers' psychological factors on the BIM adoption decisions from the perspective of managers' perceptions. The purpose is to let managers have a deep understanding of their BIM adoption decisions, and put forward targeted suggestions for the AEC industry to promote the adoption of BIM by SMEs.

Data from 192 managers in SMEs collected by the questionnaire were used in a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Due to the limitations of fsQCA in making the best use of the data used, as a complement to fsQCA, necessary conditions analysis (NCA) was used to analyze the extent to which necessary conditions influenced the outcome.

(1) NCA analysis shows that high perceived resource availability (PRA) and high performance expectancy (PE) are necessary conditions for high BIM adoption intention (AI). (2) fsQCA analysis shows that high PE is the single core condition for high AI. fsQCA analysis identifies three configurations of managers' psychological factors, reflecting three types of managers' decision preferences, namely benefit preference, loss aversion and risk avoidance, respectively. Different decision preferences may lead to different BIM adoption strategies, such as full in-house use, partial in-house/outsourcing and full outsourcing of BIM processes. (3) High perceived risk (PR) and low perceived business value of BIM (PBV) are the core conditions for low AI.

This paper expands on the application of fsQCA to context of BIM adoption decisions. Based on the results of fsQCA analysis, this paper also establishes the relationship between managers' decision-making psychology and BIM adoption strategy choice and analyzes the impact of different decision biases on BIM adoption strategy choice. It concludes with suggestions for encouraging managers to adopt BIM and for avoiding decision-making bias.

This study aims to explore how subsidiary capabilities collectively configure for performance. Additionally, it seeks to examine whether these configurations of capabilities can provide equifinal solutions through developing a comprehensive research framework that focuses on subsidiaries in China.

With a data set collected through a questionnaire from 172 Korean multinational enterprises (MNEs) in China, this study used a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to detect the capability conditions and configurations. These configurations represent combinations of various subsidiary capabilities linked to high performance.

This study identified several complex pathways with distinct configurations for high subsidiary performance. The findings demonstrate the importance of configurations over individual conditions. Thus, the results highlight that the effectiveness of diverse capabilities, which are widely believed to singularly contribute to the high performance of MNE subsidiaries, depends on how each combines with other capabilities. Overall, the findings provide a richer and fine-grained understanding of the role and relative importance of various forms of MNE subsidiary capabilities and how the joint effect of these subsidiaries contributes to high performance.

This study suggests that MNE managers should comprehensively understand how subsidiary capabilities are configured to produce subsidiary performance outcomes. This specifically illustrates the importance of understanding the mutually conflicting yet collectively exhaustive results of multi-selective solutions and aims to align with China’s industrial and regional heterogeneity.

By examining the role of MNE subsidiary capability configurations, which may collectively influence the subsidiary’s performance, this study contributes to the literature. It elucidates how MNE subsidiaries may achieve superior performance by developing and possessing various capabilities tailored to the local context.

Previous research tends to study various sustainable management practices (SMPs) in isolation, leading to inconsistent conclusions about the effect of SMP on firm profit. This research aims to advance the understanding of the linkage between SMP configurations and financial performance by revealing the dynamics of substitutions and complementarities among these SMPs.

The authors conducted an exploratory study based on the theoretical lens of the practice-based view (PBV). An integrated text-mining approach is used in gathering data from 302 corporate reports of cross-sectional firms, followed by a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis method to examine the configurations of SMPs in achieving high and low financial performance.

The findings show that green innovation practices (GIP) and cleaner production practices work together as complements for small firms in configurations associated with high profits. However, large companies in high-competition industries often adopt a minimalist configuration focusing on product quality and safety management (PQSM). PQSM and GIP are complements in configuration for small firms in high-competition industries, while they work together as substitutes for small firms in low-competition industries.

This research provides managers with a new way of thinking to support decision-making in sustainable operations management. The complementary and substitutive view of management practice can guide operations managers to design and implement effective practice configurations to achieve synergistic effects.

This is among the first studies to reveal the complex relationship between various configurations of SMPs and firm performance. In addition, this research offers new insights into previously inconsistent findings from a PBV and configuration perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to show how different combinations of the subdimensions of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) information quality (consisting of its accuracy, completeness, relevance, timeliness, and sidedness) may affect consumers' eWOM use behavior from a configurational approach.

Based on a synthesis of past literature, five precursors of eWOM use were considered. A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was employed to understand the configurations that lead to travel-related eWOM use. The study was conducted with 311 consumers from an online travel service company.

Findings identified six solutions that explain eWOM use. EWOM accuracy, completeness, and sidedness are found to be core conditions reinforcing consumers' use of eWOM in combination with different peripheral conditions, including the subdimensions of eWOM information quality and the traits of the consumers (such as social media use time and gender).

Factors related to eWOM information quality and traits of the consumers, when considered in combination, predict eWOM use behavior in particular sets of conditions.

This work enriches the eWOM literature by providing an in-depth understanding of eWOM use from a configuration perspective. Configuration analysis serves as a better tool for explaining the complex relationships among variables than a regression analysis approach does. Additionally, in response to the need to move beyond multiple regression analysis to algorithmic approaches, this study shifts the emphasis from a symmetric paradigm to an asymmetric perspective for data analysis focused on eWOM use.