Search results

Drawing on Herzberg's motivation-hygiene perspective, this study examines the factors affecting expatriate adjustment and the relationship between expatriate adjustment and subsidiary performance of emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs).

Using structural equation modeling, this study tests a proposed conceptual model based on a matched dataset collected from 38 EMNEs.

The findings reveal that perceived organizational support (POS) and family adjustment are positively associated with expatriate adjustment, while remuneration and job burnout have no significant relationships with expatriate adjustment. In addition, expatriate adjustment is positively associated with the foreign subsidiary performance of EMNEs.

This study contributes to expatriate adjustment research in the EMNE context by distinguishing motivators and hygiene factors in affecting the expatriates' attitudes toward international assignments. Empirical evidence of expatriate adjustment-subsidiary performance relationship also enriches the authors’ knowledge of EMNEs' expatriation practices.

Most academic libraries provide book recommendation services to enable readers to recommend books to the libraries. To facilitate decision-making in book acquisition, this study aimed to develop a method to determine the ranking of the recommended books based on the recommender network.

The recommender network was conducted to establish relationships among book recommenders and their similar readers by using circulation records. Furthermore, social computing techniques were used to evaluate the degree of representativeness of the recommenders and subsequently applied as a criterion to rank the recommended books. Empirical studies were performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed ranking system. The Spearman’s correlation coefficients between the proposed ranking system and the ranking obtained using reader circulation statistics were used as performance measure.

The ranking calculated using the proposed ranking mechanism was highly and moderately correlated to the ranking obtained using reader circulation statistics. The ranking of recommended books by the librarians was moderately and poorly correlated to the ranking calculated using reader circulation statistics.

The book recommender can be used to improve the accuracy of book recommendations.

This study is the first that considers the recommender network on library book acquisition. The results also show that the proposed ranking mechanism can facilitate effective book-acquisition decisions in libraries.

The purpose of this paper is to present a system that analyzes trustworthiness and ranks applications to improve the search experience.

The system adopts pointwise mutual information to calculate comment semantics. It examines subjective (signed opinions, anonymous opinions and star ratings) and objective factors (download numbers, reputation ratings) before filtering, ranking and displaying). The authors invited three experts to check three categories and compared the results using Spearman and two statistics.

A high correlation between the proposed system and the expert ranking system suggests that the system can act as decision support.

First, the authors have only tested the correlation between the proposed system and an expert ranking system; user satisfaction was not evaluated. The authors plan to conduct a later survey to gather user feedback. Second, the ranking system evaluates applications using fixed weights and disregards time. Therefore, in the future, the authors plan to enable their system to weight recent records over older ones.

User discussion forums, although helpful, have drawbacks. Not all reviews are trustworthy, and forums provide no filtering mechanisms to combat information overload. The solution to this is the authors’ system that crawls a forum, filters information, analyzes the trustworthiness of each comment and ranks the application for the user.

This paper develops a formula to analyze the trustworthiness of opinions, enabling the system to act as decision support when no professional advice is available.

The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a study that examines the influence of leader–member exchange (LMX) on employees' turnover intention and presenteeism with the mediating role of perceived organizational support in the context of the semiconductor industry.

An empirical study based on a sample of 124 department managers and 241 team members in five high-tech companies in Taiwan. Structural equation modelling analysis was used for hypothesis testing.

The results reveal that perceived organization support significantly relates to employees' turnover intention and mediates the relationship between LMX and turnover intention. Additionally, employees' presenteeism is influenced by perceived LMX.

The results of the study are of high importance for high-tech companies, which continuously strive for innovation efficiency and sustainability. Managers and practitioners could benefit from better understanding regarding the importance of perceived organization support and LMX in affecting employee behaviours and company performance.

The present study finds a significant positive relationship between LMX and presenteeism, which is contrary to the previous research.

This paper aims to present a smooth transition adaptive hybrid impedance control for compliant connector assembly.

The dynamics of the manipulator is firstly presented with linear property. The controller used in connector assembly is inspired by human operation habits in similar tasks. The hybrid impedance control is adopted to apply force in the assembly direction and provide compliance in rest directions. The reference trajectory is implemented with an adaptive controller. Event-based switching strategy is conducted for a smooth transition from unconstrained to constrained space.

The method can ensure both ideal compliance behaviour with dynamic uncertainty and a smooth transition from unconstrained to constrained space. Also, the method can ensure compliant connector assembly with a good tolerance to the target estimation error.

The method can be applied in the connector assembly by “pushing” operation. The controller devotes efforts on force tracking and smooth transition, having potential applications in contact tasks in delicate environment.

As far as the authors know, the paper is original in providing a uniform controller for improving force and position control performance in both unconstrained and constrained space with dynamic uncertainty. The proposed controller can ensure a smooth transition by only adjusting parameters.

This study aimed to improve the financing credit evaluation for small and medium-sized real estate enterprises (SMREEs). A financing credit evaluation model was proposed, and a blockchain-driven financing credit evaluation framework was designed to improve the transparency, credibility and applicability of the financing credit evaluation process.

The design science research methodology was adopted to identify the main steps in constructing the financing credit model and blockchain-driven framework. The fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP)–entropy weighting method (EWM)–set pair analysis (SPA) method was used to design a financing credit evaluation model. Moreover, the proposed framework was validated using data acquired from actual cases.

The results indicate that: (1) the proposed blockchain-driven financing credit evaluation framework can effectively realize a transparent evaluation process compared to the traditional financing credit evaluation system. (2) The proposed model has high effectiveness and can achieve efficient credit ranking, reflect SMREEs' credit status and help improve credit rating.

This study proposes a financing credit evaluation model of SMREEs based on the FAHP–EWM–SPA method. All credit rating data and evaluation process data are immediately stored in the proposed blockchain framework, and the immutable and traceable nature of blockchain enhances trust between nodes, improving the reliability of the financing credit evaluation process and results. In addition, this study partially fulfills the lack of investigations on blockchain adoption for SMREEs' financing credit.

The purpose of this paper is to forecast the future trend of Ghana’s total energy consumption (GTEC) using two grey models, which are GM(1,1) and the grey Verhulst model.

The paper employs the use of Even model GM(1,1) and the grey Verhulst model to forecast GTEC for the next five years. Since various models were used, the margin for error is minimal, hence resulting in a better choice for forecasting the future. The forecast reveals that the GTEC for the next five years will increase rapidly.

The results reveal that the models can be used accurately to predict the total energy consumption smoothly. This will aid the government of Ghana to take necessary measures such as transforming the economic development pattern and enhancing the energy utilization efficiency since future patterns of energy consumed can be predicted.

This research is meaningful to the government and all stakeholders in Ghana to help develop and appreciate the energy sector and its economic impact. This research is going to help government put in measures for efficient utilization of energy since results reveal an increase in energy consumption.

Research results could be used for development of the energy sector through managerial and economic decision making.

Ghana is a developing country and has great prospects in terms of boosting or resourcing its energy sector to meet future demands. The successfully explored models could aid the government of Ghana to formulate policies in the energy sector and generate future consumption plans.

Existing research regarding the value of school education focuses primarily on the effects of educational level on core task performance after graduation. However, it is worth noting that knowledge, skills and abilities are not the only individual gains from school education. For part-time Master of Business Administration (MBA) students, the impact of MBA education on their real-time work during their two-year or so study journey has not been reported. This study aims to provide theoretical reasoning and empirical insights to clarify the impact of psychological safety at school on psychological capital (PsyCap) at work for part-time MBA students and examines the moderating role of constructive controversy at school in this relationship.

A survey of 286 part-time MBA students was conducted in a university located in Beijing to address the theoretical issue.

Students’ psychological safety at school is positively related to PsyCap at work. Constructive controversy at school acts as a positive moderator in the relationship between psychological safety at school and PsyCap at work.

This study establishes a link between the school and the workplace. It explores the relationship between an individual’s psychological states at school and at work and contributes to the literature on human resources and management education. Furthermore, the findings prove that students not only gain knowledge, skills and abilities from education but also positive psychological states, such as psychological safety.

Refractory materials are now used in all major industries that demand high-temperature resistance, including petrochemicals, steel, cement and aviation. Businesses must decrease operating costs, enhance product technology, sell well and manage corporate risks in decision-making, notably supplier selection, to be more competitive. The study aims to determine the key criteria and factors of supplier selection and to evaluate the importance of the key factor of the supplier selection criteria for the refractory materials manufacturers in Taiwan.

Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) is used to rank these factors for the decision maker. The AHP method is suitable for verifying refractory supplier selection criteria and providing references. The weighted loss scores for each supplier are then determined using the relative importance as the weights. Supplier selection criteria are ranked using their aggregate weighted loss scores. The provider with the lowest loss score should be chosen.

Product quality is the most significant of the five criteria: product quality, production technology, logistics capacity, service capability and supplier background. Professionalism is the most significant aspect of product quality, whereas equipment and capacity are vital in manufacturing techniques. The studies also show that the delivery rate is essential for logistics and service capabilities.

This research has important implications for refractory suppliers in promptly fine-tuning the production and service to enhance customer satisfaction, which is key to business sustainability.

The application of an AHP technique to a real-world industrial issue is what makes this research unique. This research addressed one of the most critical topics in supply chain operations by offering better judgement for supplier selection via the use of suitable quantitative methodologies.

The purpose of this study is to examine the aspects of workplace environment and the experiences of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) employees in an Asian context; a subject that has hitherto been somewhat neglected. It responds to a call for more contextual research in the field of employment diversity in organizational management in general.

This is a mixed method study, which utilizes multiple sources of primary and secondary data and consists of in-depth personal interviews, a survey of LGBT employees, published data (including legislation and state policies), reports issued by social and media organizations, documentary evidence from Taiwanese companies and insights drawn from the existing literature.

It was found that there is an interplay between the macro, meso and micro levels in the multilevel relational framework applied to diversity of employment in Taiwan. Macrolevel factors, such as supportive legislation, mass media and social tolerance toward LGBT community positively affect mesolevel factors, such as stable and secure social networks among the LGBT community in the form of legal and social organizations (NGOs, social media, bars, restaurants, etc.) as well as many companies inclusion of sexual orientation in their definitions of diversity. However, this is opposed by macrolevel, cultural values related to family structure and intergenerational relationships that inhibit pro-active integration and equality of LGBT individuals at the meso organizational level. Companies headed by older-generation leadership can be slow to advocate, support and promote sexual-orientation diversity in their workplaces. In contrast, microlevel data shows that LGBT employees receive robust psychological support from their peer group, friends and the LGBT community, although gaining acceptance by family and coworkers remains a challenge.

Future studies need to focus on the dynamics of the meso- and microlevel factors by investigating how organizational structure, perspectives of leaders and HR managers, diversity management practices and attitudes and behaviors of LGBT employees and other coworkers affect development and integration of sexual-orientation diversity programs within organizations.

Managers, policy makers in organization as well as educators benefit from the context-sensitive findings and recommendations offered in this paper.

Understanding of LGBT individuals employment environment helps to facilitate or hinder the positive development of equal society and benefit both LGBT employees, their coworkers and managers.

Limited research exists on the LGBT employees experiences at work in Asia. This study makes unique contribution to the understanding of sexual orientation category of diversity at work in Taiwan context.