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1 – 10 of 474
Article
Publication date: 25 April 2024

Xiaoyong Zheng

While previous research has demonstrated the positive effects of digital business strategies on operational efficiency, financial performance and value creation, little is known…

Abstract

Purpose

While previous research has demonstrated the positive effects of digital business strategies on operational efficiency, financial performance and value creation, little is known about how such strategies influence innovation performance. To address the gap, this paper aims to investigate the impact of a firm’s digital business strategy on its innovation performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on the dynamic capability view, this study examines the mechanism through which a digital business strategy affects innovation performance. Data were collected from 215 firms in China and analyzed using multiple regression and structural equation modeling.

Findings

The empirical analysis reveals that a firm’s digital business strategy has positive impacts on both product and process innovation performance. These impacts are partially mediated by knowledge-based dynamic capability. Additionally, a firm’s digital business strategy interacts positively with its entrepreneurial orientation in facilitating knowledge-based dynamic capability. Moreover, market turbulence enhances the strength of this interaction effect. Therefore, entrepreneurial-oriented firms operating in turbulent markets can benefit more from digital business strategies to enhance their knowledge-based dynamic capabilities and consequently improve their innovation performance.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the understanding of how a firm’s digital business strategy interacts with entrepreneurial orientation in turbulent markets to shape knowledge-based dynamic capability, which in turn enhances the firm’s innovation performance.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 December 2023

Zehui Bu, Jicai Liu and Jiaqi Liu

Emotions, understood as evolving mental states, are pivotal in shaping individuals“' decision-making, especially in ambiguous information evaluation, probability estimation of…

Abstract

Purpose

Emotions, understood as evolving mental states, are pivotal in shaping individuals“' decision-making, especially in ambiguous information evaluation, probability estimation of events, and causality analysis. Public–private partnership (PPP) projects represent a confluence of “economic–environmental–social” dimensions, wherein stakeholder behavior follows the sequential progression of “cognition–emotion–action.” Consequently, comprehending the effects of emotional shifts on stakeholder's decision-making processes is vital to fostering the sustainability of PPP projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper utilizes rank-dependent expected utility and evolutionary game theory to systematically examine the influence of emotional factors on stakeholders' behavior and decision-making processes within PPP projects. The paper integrates three emotional state functions—optimism, pessimism and rationality—into the PPP framework, highlighting the intricate interactions among the government, private sector, surrounding public and the media. Furthermore, the paper amalgamates the evolutionary pathways of environmental rights incidents with the media's role. Through equilibrium analysis and numerical simulation, the paper delves into the diverse interplay of emotions across different phases of the environmental rights incident, assessing the impact of these emotions on the evolutionary game's equilibrium results.

Findings

Emotions significantly influence the microlevel decisions of PPP stakeholders, adapting continually based on event dynamics and media influences. When the private sector demonstrates optimism and the surrounding public leans toward rationality or pessimism, the likelihood of the private sector engaging in speculative behavior escalates, while the surrounding public refrains from adopting a supervisory strategy. Conversely, when the private sector is pessimistic and the public is optimistic, the system fails to evolve a stable strategy. However, when government regulation intensifies, the private sector opts for a nonspeculative strategy, and the surrounding public adopts a supervisory strategy. Under these conditions, the system attains a relatively optimal state of equilibrium.

Originality/value

The paper develops a game model to examine the evolutionary dynamics between the surrounding public and private sectors concerning environmental rights protection in waste incineration PPP projects. It illuminates the nature of the conflicting interests among project participants, delves into the impact of emotional factors on their decision-making processes and offers crucial perspectives for the governance of such partnerships. Furthermore, this paper provides substantive recommendations for emotional oversight to enhance governance efficacy.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 August 2022

Miroslav Zizka and Eva Stichhauerova

This study aims to determine how much company participation in a type of cluster affects its economic performance.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to determine how much company participation in a type of cluster affects its economic performance.

Design/methodology/approach

This study includes companies operating in seven industries (automotive, engineering, textiles, information technology (IT) services, furniture, packaging and nanotechnology) in the Czech Republic. The companies are divided into three groups: members of institutionalized cluster, operating in the same region (natural clusters) and operating in other regions. Data envelopment window analysis is used to measure their performance for 2009–2019.

Findings

Results show that the effect of clustering differs among industries. Companies in three industries (automotive, engineering, nanotechnology) reveal a positive impact of the cluster initiative on performance growth. Two industries (textile, packaging) with companies operating in a natural cluster show better performance than those in an institutionalized cluster. Moreover, the IT services and the furniture industries show no positive effect of clustering on corporate performance.

Research limitations/implications

This research includes 686 companies from seven industries and monitored for 11 years. On the one hand, the sample includes a relatively high number of companies overall; but on the other hand, the sample is relatively small, especially for nonclustered companies. The reason is the lack of available financial statements for small companies.

Practical implications

From the perspective of practical cluster policy, the authors can recommend that monitoring the performance of member companies in clusters must be one of the criteria for evaluating the success of a cluster, such as cluster initiatives.

Originality/value

This study distinguishes between long-standing natural clusters in a given industry and institutionalized ones that have emerged because of a top-down initiative. An original database is created for clustered and nonclustered companies in seven industries, covering the entire Czech Republic.

Details

Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal , vol. 33 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1059-5422

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 December 2023

Fábio de Oliveira Neves, Eduardo Gomes Salgado, Henrique Ewbank and Paulo Sampaio

Industrialization is a major contributor to pollution and the worsening of some social problems. A change in this context would help in a new industrial model aiming at a viable…

Abstract

Purpose

Industrialization is a major contributor to pollution and the worsening of some social problems. A change in this context would help in a new industrial model aiming at a viable and sustainable manufacturing system. This research aims to verify the state of the art of sustainability within the industrial production process through a systematic literature review, verifying the main characteristics in relation to industrial sustainability that the literature demonstrates.

Design/methodology/approach

The development of the research took place in three stages: a survey of articles with Journal Citation Reports (JCR), the construction of the database and descriptive analysis and text mining analyses of social networks and content. The survey took place through academically endorsed research platforms, totaling a total of 352 scientific articles, which included 18 quality management tools and worked with at least one sustainability indicator (financial, social and environmental).

Findings

Lean manufacturing, integrated management system and Six Sigma were the most cited quality tools, and articles containing the three indicators were found more frequently. It was found that most authors treated sustainability only as an environmental contribution. Knowledge of the organization's structural and management issues is essential for implementing sustainability and production process improvement.

Originality/value

This work is the first to develop a systematic analysis regarding the use of sustainability implementation in the industrial production process, considering a wide scope of production process tools, guiding on the characteristics of sustainability relating to the main critical success factors (CSFs), motivations, difficulties and benefits that lead industries in different parts of the world to implement sustainability.

Details

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, vol. 41 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-671X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 October 2023

Litao Zhong, Lei Wen and Zhimin Wang

This paper aims to explore the interplay between industrial diversity and sustainable economic development in US counties.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the interplay between industrial diversity and sustainable economic development in US counties.

Design/methodology/approach

Among other popularly used measures, this study uses an underused measure, Hachman index, to gauge the degree of industrial diversity in the models. To capture the impact of industrial diversity on the local community, this study estimates the relationship of two diversity measures to four traditional socioeconomic indicators: per capita personal income growth, gross domestic product per worker, income inequality ratio and poverty rate.

Findings

Statistical results suggest that industrial diversity, which is measured by Hachman index, is significantly related to the four socio-economic indicators. Industrial diversity can positively contribute to regional per capita personal income growth and mitigate income inequality and poverty stress; however, it is negatively related to the gross domestic product (GDP) per worker, which means industrial specialization may contribute to GDP per worker growth.

Originality/value

The findings of this study show that there is a nonlinear relationship between industrial diversity and all socioeconomic indicators. Most of the control variables, human capital variables and business and industry profile variables also display significant and positive impacts on economic development.

Details

International Journal of Development Issues, vol. 23 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1446-8956

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 December 2023

Mustafa Çimen, Damla Benli, Merve İbiş Bozyel and Mehmet Soysal

Vehicle allocation problems (VAPs), which are frequently confronted in many transportation activities, primarily including but not limited to full truckload freight transportation…

Abstract

Purpose

Vehicle allocation problems (VAPs), which are frequently confronted in many transportation activities, primarily including but not limited to full truckload freight transportation operations, induce a significant economic impact. Despite the increasing academic attention to the field, literature still fails to match the needs of and opportunities in the growing industrial practices. In particular, the literature can grow upon the ideas on sustainability, Industry 4.0 and collaboration, which shape future practices not only in logistics but also in many other industries. This review has the potential to enhance and accelerate the development of relevant literature that matches the challenges confronted in industrial problems. Furthermore, this review can help to explore the existing methods, algorithms and techniques employed to address this problem, reveal directions and generate inspiration for potential improvements.

Design/methodology/approach

This study provides a literature review on VAPs, focusing on quantitative models that incorporate any of the following emerging logistics trends: sustainability, Industry 4.0 and logistics collaboration.

Findings

In the literature, sustainability interactions have been limited to environmental externalities (mostly reducing operational-level emissions) and economic considerations; however, emissions generated throughout the supply chain, other environmental externalities such as waste and product deterioration, or the level of stakeholder engagement, etc., are to be monitored in order to achieve overall climate-neutral services to the society. Moreover, even though there are many types of collaboration (such as co-opetition and vertical collaboration) and Industry 4.0 opportunities (such as sharing information and comanaging distribution operations) that could improve vehicle allocation operations, these topics have not yet received sufficient attention from researchers.

Originality/value

The scientific contribution of this study is twofold: (1) This study analyses decision models of each reviewed article in terms of decision variable, constraint and assumption sets, objectives, modeling and solving approaches, the contribution of the article and the way that any of sustainability, Industry 4.0 and collaboration aspects are incorporated into the model. (2) The authors provide a discussion on the gaps in the related literature, particularly focusing on practical opportunities and serving climate-neutrality targets, carried out under four main streams: logistics collaboration possibilities, supply chain risks, smart solutions and various other potential practices. As a result, the review provides several gaps in the literature and/or potential research ideas that can improve the literature and may provide positive industrial impacts, particularly on how logistics collaboration may be further engaged, which supply chain risks are to be incorporated into decision models, and how smart solutions can be employed to cope with uncertainty and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of operations.

Details

The International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-4093

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 February 2023

Hua Pang

By building and examining an integral model, the principal objectives of this research are to systematically explore how indirect and direct network externalities lead to user…

Abstract

Purpose

By building and examining an integral model, the principal objectives of this research are to systematically explore how indirect and direct network externalities lead to user loyalty toward WeChat through the mediating effect of perceived gratifications.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected through an online survey of 688 young people in Mainland China. To empirically assess the conceptual model, zero-order correlation analyses and structural equation modeling were carried out utilizing web-based data.

Findings

Path analysis results demonstrate that indirect network externalities and direct network externalities exert a significant impact on users' hedonic gratifications and utilitarian gratifications. Moreover, the study discovers the significant mediating influences of utilitarian gratifications on the association between indirect network externalities and user loyalty.

Research limitations/implications

Theoretically, this article may extend the scope of diverse studies on the association between network externalities and perceived gratifications and offer fresh insights into how mobile social media could actually improve user loyalty through enhancing perceived values among younger generation. Practically, this research assists mobile social media practitioners in retaining users and gaining competitive advantages over rival applications.

Originality/value

Although the extraordinary growth of WeChat has successfully become the dominant media by which individuals develop interpersonal network and contact with others, the roles of perceived gratifications between network externalities and user loyalty toward WeChat have not yet been investigated in depth. These obtained outcomes not only enrich the existing literature regarding the relationship between network externalities and affective response, but also offer fresh insights to mobile social media designers, marketers and users.

Details

Aslib Journal of Information Management, vol. 76 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-3806

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 January 2024

Feng Chen, Suxiu Xu and Yue Zhai

Promoting electric vehicles (EVs) is an effective way to achieve carbon neutrality. If EVs are widely adopted, this will undoubtedly be good for the environment. The purpose of…

Abstract

Purpose

Promoting electric vehicles (EVs) is an effective way to achieve carbon neutrality. If EVs are widely adopted, this will undoubtedly be good for the environment. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of network externalities and subsidy on the strategies of manufacturer under a carbon neutrality constraint.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the authors propose a game-theoretic framework in an EVs supply chain consisting of a government, a manufacturer and a group of consumers. The authors examine two subsidy options and explain the choice of optimal strategies for government and manufacturer.

Findings

First, the authors find that the both network externalities of charging stations and government subsidy can promote the EV market. Second, under a relaxed carbon neutrality constraint, even if the government’s purchase subsidy investment is larger than the carbon emission reduction technology subsidy investment, the purchase subsidy policy is still optimal. Third, under a strict carbon neutrality constraint, when the cost coefficient of carbon emission reduction and the effectiveness of carbon emission reduction technology are larger, social welfare will instead decrease with the increase of the effectiveness of emission reduction technology and then, the manufacturer’s investment in carbon emission reduction technology is lower. In the extended model, the authors find the effectiveness of carbon emission reduction technology can also promote the EV market and social welfare (or consumer surplus) is the same whatever the subsidy strategy.

Practical implications

The network externalities of charging stations and the subsidy effect of the government have a superimposition effect on the promotion of EVs. When the network effect of charging stations is relatively strong, government can withdraw from the subsidized market. When the network effect of charging stations is relatively weak, government can intervene appropriately.

Originality/value

Comparing previous studies, this study reveals the impact of government intervention, network effects and carbon neutrality constraints on the EV supply chain. From a sustainability perspective, these insights are compelling for both EV manufacturers and policymakers.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2023

Yung-Ming Cheng

The purpose of this study is to propose a research model based on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model to test whether network externality, gamification and media richness…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to propose a research model based on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model to test whether network externality, gamification and media richness as environmental feature antecedents to learners' learning engagement (LE) can affect their continuance intention of massive open online courses (MOOCs).

Design/methodology/approach

Sample data for this study were collected from learners who had experience in taking the gamified MOOCs provided by the MOOC platform launched by a well-known university in Taiwan, and 315 usable questionnaires were analyzed using structural equation modeling in this study.

Findings

This study verified that learners' perceived network externality, gamification and media richness in MOOCs positively influenced their behavioral LE, emotional LE and social LE elicited by MOOCs, which collectively caused their continuance intention of MOOCs. The results support all proposed hypotheses, and the research model accounts for 75.6% of the variance in learners' continuance intention of MOOCs.

Originality/value

This study uses the S-O-R model as a theoretical groundwork to construct learners' continuance intention of MOOCs as a series of the internal process, which is influenced by network externality, gamification and media richness. Noteworthily, three psychological constructs, behavioral LE, emotional LE and social LE, are employed to represent learners' organisms of MOOCs usage. To date, the concepts of network externality, gamification and media richness are rarely together adopted as environmental stimuli, and psychological constructs as organisms have received lesser attention in prior MOOCs studies using the S-O-R model. Hence, this study's contribution on the application of capturing psychological constructs for completely expounding three types of environmental features as antecedents to learners' continuance intention of MOOCs is well documented.

Details

The International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, vol. 40 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4880

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 November 2022

Liang Shen, Runjie Fan, Yuyan Wang, Hua Li and Rongyun Tang

Considering the network externalities of online selling, this paper builds three different online direct selling models: manufacturer direct selling (MN model), network platform…

292

Abstract

Purpose

Considering the network externalities of online selling, this paper builds three different online direct selling models: manufacturer direct selling (MN model), network platform direct selling (NN model) and retailer direct selling (RN model). The optimal advertising and pricing decision and corporate profits under each selling model are investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

Combining the characteristics of online direct selling, this paper formulates direct selling models that are dominated by different companies as Stackelberg game models. Numerical analyses are carried out, along with the comparison of the equilibrium solutions for each model.

Findings

The authors' research shows that increasing network externalities is conducive to the development of enterprises. The network platform's profit is the lowest in the RN model and the highest in the NN one. The comparison of manufacturers' profits between the MN model and the NN model primarily depends on consumers' sensitivities for sales price and advertising promotion level. The manufacturer does not benefit from the RN model due to the lowest efficiency.

Originality/value

Coupled with three different online direct selling models and detailed analyses of the optimal solutions, this study has enriched the theoretical foundation of online direct selling. Moreover, this study extends the research of network externalities to the field of e-commerce, revealing the network externalities' influence on the decision-making of the e-supply chain.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 123 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

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