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The purpose of this study is to examine how formal contracts affect alliance innovation performance. To understand the mechanism underlying the impact, this study tests whether relationship learning mediates the impact of formal contracts on alliance innovation performance and how guanxi moderates the mediating effect.

This study is conducted with a sample of 225 manufacturers in China. This paper used hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypotheses and used the PROCESS method to test the mediating effect of relationship learning.

Formal contracts positively affect relationship learning, which facilitates alliance innovation performance. Guanxi positively moderates the effect of formal contracts on alliance innovation performance. Relationship learning mediates the relationship between formal contracts and alliance innovation performance. Moreover, guanxi positively moderates the mediating effect.

Future research could investigate factors moderating the effect of guanxi on alliance innovation performance and moderating the effect of relationship learning on alliance innovation performance. Future research can also use secondary data to measure alliance innovation performance. Future researchers can examine how guanxi as a relational mechanism governance affects relationship learning.

Managers should conduct relationship learning in the process of alliance innovation and realize that reducing opportunism does not mean improving innovation performance. Moreover, managers should know that guanxi could contribute to alliance innovation performance with the help of formal contracts.

Prior studies have mainly focused on the fundamental requirement of governing knowledge exchange in alliances. Little is known about the mediating effect of relationship learning on the relationship between formal contracts and outcomes of innovation alliances. This study contributes to the literature by filling the gap.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a simulation and experimental research concerning the effect of recess depth on the lubrication performance of a hydrostatic thrust bearing by constant rate flow.

The computational fluid dynamics and finite volume method have been used to compute the lubrication characteristics of an annular recess hydrostatic thrust bearing with different recess depths. The performances are oil recess pressure, oil recess temperature and oil film velocity. The recess depth has been optimized. A test rig is established for testing the pressure field of the structure of hydrostatic thrust bearing after recess depth optimization, and experimental results show that experimental data are basically identical with the simulation results, which demonstrates the validity of the proposed numerical simulation method.

The results demonstrate that the oil film temperature decreases and the oil film pressure first increases and then decreases with an increase in the recess depth, but oil film velocity is constant. To sum up comprehensive lubrication performance, the recess depth of 3.5 mm is its optimal value for the annular recess hydrostatic thrust bearing.

The computed results indicate that to get an improved performance from a constant flow hydrostatic thrust bearing, a proper selection of the recess depth is essential.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an optimization method of robot cladding path, which is helpful to solve the problem of path under-optimization in laser cladding forming (LCF) based on robot.

First, the error influence parameters need setting before the cladding path generation, and the model of seeking appropriate error influence parameters is established based on the particle swarm optimization (PSO). Second, to solve the problem of collapse during the LCF process, the reason for collapse is analyzed and a robot cladding path error optimization method based on the layer path interpolation is proposed. Finally, the simulation and experiments are carried out.

Under the premise of giving the expected error of stereo lithography (STL) model, the optimal range of the chord height and the angle control can be quickly found by using PSO algorithm. Aiming at the collapse problem in the laser cladding process, a robot cladding path optimization method based on the layer path interpolation is proposed. A four-layer path interpolation simulation and the contrast experiments before and after the path optimization are completed; the results show that the robot cladding path optimization method can solve the problem of the collapse in laser cladding.

Robot cladding path optimization is one of the key technologies of LCF, and the quality of the robot cladding path is affected by STL model error and the path optimization method. This paper proposed a robot cladding path optimization method for LCF. This method can be used in other additive manufacturing techniques.

The quality of cladding path is important for LCF; this paper first proposed the optimization method of the robot cladding path for LCF to solve the collapse problem.

Drawing upon the theory of organizational commitment and relative standing, this study aimed to develop an integrative model to examine how organizational cultural differences impact on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) performance.

The study used regression analysis and moderated path analysis to test the hypothesis with a sample of 103 executives from 49 firms acquired by Chinese state-owned enterprises.

The paper arrives at the conclusion that the executives’ organizational commitment mediated the association between organizational cultural differences and M&A performance. Besides, the authors also confirmed the moderator role of relative standing.

The paper suggests ways that can help practitioners better eliminate cultural differences obstacles during the M&A by presenting an integrative framework and showed an actual Chinese case.

This study contributes to the M&A literature by developing an integrative model to explain the complexity between organizational cultural differences and M&A performance with a Chinese executive sample.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a new method based on three-dimensional (3D) vision technologies and human skill integrated deep learning to solve assembly positioning task such as peg-in-hole.

Hybrid camera configuration was used to provide the global and local views. Eye-in-hand mode guided the peg to be in contact with the hole plate using 3D vision in global view. When the peg was in contact with the workpiece surface, eye-to-hand mode provided the local view to accomplish peg-hole positioning based on trained CNN.

The results of assembly positioning experiments proved that the proposed method successfully distinguished the target hole from the other same size holes according to the CNN. The robot planned the motion according to the depth images and human skill guide line. The final positioning precision was good enough for the robot to carry out force controlled assembly.

The developed framework can have an important impact on robotic assembly positioning process, which combine with the existing force-guidance assembly technology as to build a whole set of autonomous assembly technology.

This paper proposed a new approach to the robotic assembly positioning based on 3D visual technologies and human skill integrated deep learning. Dual cameras swapping mode was used to provide visual feedback for the entire assembly motion planning process. The proposed workpiece positioning method provided an effective disturbance rejection, autonomous motion planning and increased overall performance with depth images feedback. The proposed peg-hole positioning method with human skill integrated provided the capability of target perceptual aliasing avoiding and successive motion decision for the robotic assembly manipulation.

Although the role of returnees is critical to firm innovation, the literature offers inconsistent findings regarding returnees' effect on firms' innovation performance. To reconcile this issue, the authors argue that taking the types of innovation into account – i.e. technical innovation and commercial innovation – is necessary. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine how firms led by returnees affect the relationship between research and development (R&D) input and above two types of innovation output, as well as the contingent role of political connections (PCs) and venture capital funding (VC funding).

This study empirically tested the hypotheses using a dataset of 54,617 firm-year observations for 18,475 Chinese firms in Zhongguancun Science Park (ZSP) from 2009 to 2014.

The results show that the positive effect of R&D input on technical innovation performance (TIP) is reinforced when firms are led by returnees, while the positive effect of R&D input on commercial innovation performance (CIP) is weakened when firms are led by returnees compared with those firms led by the local counterparts. The findings further show that returnee firms' positive effect on the relationship between R&D input and technical innovation performance is more salient for firms with more PCs but weakened for those with more VC funding.

This study enriches the research on returnee firms' advantages and disadvantages in transforming R&D input into innovation performance, and the findings highlight that firms led by returnees can increase R&D efficiency of technical innovation, but reduce R&D efficiency of commercial innovation. Moreover, this study offers a contingent view of political and economic stakeholders' roles in returnee firms' innovation, by revealing PCs help returnee firms to enhance R&D efficiency in technological innovation, while venture capital can hamper such R&D efficiency.

Managerial ties (i.e. business ties and political ties) could help manufacturers conduct learning ambidexterity by providing external resources. However, the resource management perspective claims that merely accessing external resources does not guarantee learning ambidexterity. As manufacturers utilize their resources by implementing services, this study aims to investigate how the impact of managerial ties on learning ambidexterity depends on human resource service practices (i.e. manager service support and employee service rewards).

This study collected data from 150 high-tech manufacturing firms through a survey-based questionnaire, which was completed by two managers in one firm. The ordinary least squares regression was employed to test the research model and hypotheses.

Business ties hurt learning ambidexterity when manager service support is high, whereas business ties benefit learning ambidexterity when employee service rewards are high. Similar findings are not applied to political ties.

The authors did not examine the mechanism underlying the effect of managerial ties on learning ambidexterity. The non-significant findings on political ties suggest potential mediators for future research. Another limitation is that the study’s data are only from China. Manager ties are also important in other developing countries like Turkey. More data from other countries are needed to test the generalization of the authors’ findings.

First, managers should focus on business ties more than political ties when learning ambidexterity is important to their firms. Second, managers should reward service-oriented employees.

The study enriches the literature on investigating the impact of managerial ties on learning ambidexterity. The authors also contribute to the literature by examining servitization as a service context. Prior studies mainly examine servitization as a driver of firm performance. The findings suggest that servitization as a business context can affect other business activities.

Scenic tourist buildings are the important material security conditions for famous scenic cities to carry out tourism activities, and the level of their planning and design will directly affect the tourists' recognition of the scenic spots. Based on this, a research on the evaluation of the coupling degree between scenic tourist buildings and sites based on analytic hierarchy process was put forward. First of all, the theory of the coupling between the landscape tourism architecture and the site was elaborated, and then the landscape tourism architecture and its planning and design were proposed; taking a certain project as an example, planning and design of its teahouse, villas, sightseeing stand and other buildings were analyzed emphatically; in addition, the evaluation of the coupling degree of AHP was used to show that the planed and designed scenic tourist buildings are in the landscape and they can also be the landscape.

Rigid robotic hands are generally fast, precise and capable of exerting large forces, whereas soft robotic hands are compliant, safe and adaptive to complex environments. It is valuable and challenging to develop soft-rigid robotic hands that have both types of capabilities. The paper aims to address the challenge through developing a paradigm to achieve the behaviors of soft and rigid robotic hands adaptively.

The design principle of a two-joint finger is proposed. A kinematic model and a stiffness enhancement method are proposed and discussed. The manufacturing process for the soft-rigid finger is presented. Experiments are carried out to validate the accuracy of the kinematic model and evaluate the performance of the flexible body of the finger. Finally, a robotic hand composed of two soft-rigid fingers is fabricated to demonstrate its grasping capacities.

The kinematic model can capture the desired distal deflection and comprehensive shape accurately. The stiffness enhancement method guarantees stable grasp of the robotic hand, without sacrificing its flexibility and adaptability. The robotic hand is lightweight and practical. It can exhibit different grasping capacities.

It can be applied in the field of industrial grasping, where the objects are varied in materials and geometry. The hand’s inherent characteristic removes the need to detect and react to slight variations in surface geometry and makes the control strategies simple.

This work proposes a novel robotic hand. It possesses three distinct characteristics, i.e. high compliance, exhibiting discrete or continuous kinematics adaptively, lightweight and practical structures.

This paper aims to improve the bearing capacity of hydrostatic thrust bearing under working conditions of high speed and heavy load; a new wedge-shaped structure opened on an edge of oil seal is put forward, the loss and insufficiency for hydrostatic bearing capacity are made up by using dynamic pressure, and then, hydrostatic hydrodynamic lubrication is realized.

Oil film three-dimensional models of unidirectional and bi-directional hydrostatic hydrodynamic oil pad are established by using UG. The oil film pressure fields of two kinds of oil pad are simulated by using ANSYS ICEM CFD and ANSYS CFX; the pressure fields distribution characteristics are obtained, and the effects of workbench rotary speed and bearing weight on pressure field are analyzed. Also, the experimental verification is made.

The results demonstrate that with an increase in workbench rotary speed, the oil film pressure of two kinds of hybrid oil pad increases gradually, and the maximum pressure of the bi-directional one accounts for 95 per cent of the unidirectional one when the load is constant. With an increase in load, the oil film pressure of two kinds of hybrid oil pad increases gradually, the difference between them is 9.4 per cent under the condition of load of 25 t when the rotary speed is constant.

The paper can provide theoretical basis for a structure design of hybrid thrust bearing under different rotary speed and load conditions, and compensate the shortage of static pressure-bearing capacity by using dynamic pressure, improve the stability of vertical CNC machining equipment.