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This paper aims to overcome the defect that the traditional clustering method is excessively dependent on initial clustering radius and also provide new technical measures for detecting the component content of lubricating oil based on the fuzzy neural system model.

According to the layers model of the fuzzy neural system model for the given sample data pair, the new clustering method can be implemented, and through the fuzzy system model, the detection method for the selected oil samples is given. By applying this method, the composition contents of 30 kinds of oil samples in lubricating oil are checked, and the actual composition contents of oil samples are compared.

Through the detection of 21 mineral elements in 30 oil samples, it can be known that the four mineral elements such as Zn, P, Ca and Mg have largest contribution rate to the lubricating oil, and they can be regarded as the main factors for classification of lubricating oil. The results show that the fuzzy system to be established based on sample data clustering has better performance in detection lubricant component content.

In spite of lots of methods for detecting the component of lubricating oil at the present, there is still no detection of the component of lubricating oil through clustering method based on sample data pair. The new nearest clustering method is proposed in this paper, and it can be more effectively used to detect the content of lubricating oil.

As globalization increasingly affects the university sector around the world, there is a great advantage being placed on those universities that can respond timely and flexibly with appropriate innovation and internationalization strategies. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature of strategic aspects of innovation and internationalization in higher education. Based upon the premises of the Salford Prime Minister's Initiative 2 (PMI2) project, this paper aims to develop a theoretical framework which demonstrates how various objectives of innovation and internationalization can be translated and achieved in a learning organization context.

Theoretical analysis supported by empirical experiences. The paper explores the ideas and links between globalization and innovation/internationalization in higher education. The main concern of the paper is the implementation strategy of innovation and internationalization rather than the concepts and process of innovation and internationalization in higher education.

With examination of the impact of globalization upon higher education and strategic aspects of innovation and internationalization, this paper focuses on the implementation of innovation and internationalization and how to translate the overall institutional strategy into managed objectives. Organizational learning not only asserts and promotes organizational outcome and improved performance but also plays a significant role in achieving innovation and internationalization, e.g. staff engagement, staff motivation, empowerment, leadership and configuration. Furthermore, the paper identifies a number of strategic elements which are crucial to the successful implementation strategy of innovation and internationalization. The paper is based on the Salford PMI2 project and how various objectives were implemented which demonstrates the significance of collaboration in higher education between China and the UK.

Based on a comprehensive examination of the theoretical elements on innovation and internationalization and critical analysis of the Salford PMI2 project, adapting a typology of learning organizational framework, this study emphasizes the significance of incorporating both cultural and organizational learning factors. The paper develops a theoretical framework which enables policy makers and decision makers to make appropriate arrangements in designing international development strategy. Furthermore, the paper addresses the appropriateness and effectiveness of knowledge transfer, individual and organizational learning during the implementation of the internationalization strategy.

Hoping to uncover the physical principles of the vibration of the functionally graded material (FGM) microplate, by which the authors can make contributions to the design and manufacturing process in factories like micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) and other industries.

The authors design a method by establishing a reasonable mathematical model of the physical microplate composed of a porous FGM.

The authors discover that the porosity, the distributions of porosity, the power law of the FGM and the length-to-thickness ratio all affect the natural frequency of the vibration of the microplate, but in different ways.

Originally proposed a model of the micro FGM plate considering the different distributions of the porosity and scale effect and analyzed the vibration frequency of it.

The purpose of this study is to develop a better understanding of how information technology (IT) resources influence a firm’s channel power development. Specifically, this study hypothesizes that two types of IT resources (i.e. IT infrastructure resources and IT human resources) are key antecedents to channel power and that information management capability is a key mediator between IT resources and channel power.

The hypotheses are tested using survey data gathered from a sample of Chinese companies. The analyses are performed using partial least squares technique.

The results suggest that both of the two IT resources play key roles in enhancing a firm’s channel power, but they do so in different ways. Specifically, while IT human resources can enhance a firm’s channel power by strengthening both information acquisition and dissemination capabilities, IT infrastructure resources can influence channel power only by enhancing a firm’s information acquisition capability.

The measurement of IT resources might potentially be influenced by subjective divergence. In addition, information management contains many sub-processes, and this study only examines two of them: information acquisition and information dissemination.

The findings suggest that managers should develop/improve both IT infrastructure and human resources to enhance channel power by building stronger information management capability. More importantly, the findings reveal that IT human resource can provide more benefits as it strengthens both information acquisition and dissemination capabilities.

This study extends the existing literature by investigating how a firm’s IT resources affect its channel power. The results of this study provide insightful guidance for managers and researchers in how to better manage IT resources to improve channel governance performance.

Currently, there is a dearth of research studies regarding macro analysis of the workforce productivity of the US construction industry. The purpose of this paper is to calculate the workforce productivity changes of the US construction industry from 2006 to 2016, with the number of laborers as input and value of construction industry as output.

The present study introduced the data envelopment analysis (DEA) based Malmquist productivity index model to measure the workforce productivity of the US construction industry from 2006 to 2016.

The results indicated that the workforce productivity of the US construction industry experienced a continuous decline, except for the increases from 2011 to 2013 and from 2014 to 2015. It was also shown that there were gaps in the workforce productivity development level among all states and nine regions in the US construction industry. Besides, the relationship between workforce productivity and four aspects, including real estate price, workforce, climate distribution and economic factors, was analyzed.

The calculation of the productivity of the US construction industry is based on the premise that the external environment is fixed and unchanged from 2006 to 2016, but the multi-level DEA model for further calculation is required for obtaining more effective conclusions.

This paper measures the workforce productivity of the US construction industry over the past 11 years, which added latest analysis and knowledge into the construction industry, providing decision-makers with advice and data support to formulate policies to improve workforce productivity.

This study provided both government decision-makers and industrial practitioners with important macro background environment information, which will facilitate the improvement of workforce productivity in the construction industry in different regions of the US.

The purpose of this paper is to study how to effectively allocate water, energy and food (WEF) resources in urban development.

An agent-based model combined with NetLogo simulation model has been used in this paper.

This paper proposes a framework for agent analysis in urban WEF consumption.

Further discussions using empirical data are of great importance.

Apply to form the development model of the city in the future.

A new method of WEF management has been used at the city level.

The purpose of this study investigates the asymmetric effects of brand origin confusion (BOC) on consumer preference and the purchase of local versus foreign brands in China. Drawing on the general country‐of‐origin (COO) literature and recent developments in brand‐origin studies and the emerging market phenomenon globally, it proposes and test a model of the asymmetric effects of BOC on consumer preference and the purchase of local versus foreign brands in China. This study intends to help to explain from a new angle the decreasing competitiveness of foreign brands in emerging markets, such as China.

The study pretest on nationally distributed brands across seven product categories resulted in a final set of 67 brands: 35 foreign and 32 local. Four hundred respondents evaluated measures related to brand origin, brand awareness, brand value, brand preference, and brand purchases in the previous six months. Hierarchical regression analysis was used in data analysis.

The hypotheses on the asymmetric effects of BOC between local and foreign brands in China were mostly supported. Specifically, the results showed that local brands are likely to be in an advantageous position when there is a high level of BOC. However, as the brand knowledge of consumers increases, the effects of BOC decrease.

This study provides evidence of the asymmetric effects of BOC between local and foreign brands and the moderating role of brand knowledge for local brands in China. It fills a gap in the international branding and marketing communication literature, and offers meaningful managerial insights for both local and international companies to formulate effective branding and marketing communication strategies in China and possibly in other emerging markets.

The purpose of this study is to develop a better understanding of how relational embeddedness offers marketing channel partners both benefits and hazards. The nonlinear effect of relational embeddedness on channel opportunism is investigated. Influence strategies (i.e. coercive and noncoercive influence) are also examined as mediators of this nonlinear effect.

Survey data are gathered from a sample of 149 manufacturers in China. The hypotheses are tested through regression analysis.

The results support the hypothesis that relational embeddedness has a U-shaped effect on opportunism, and that this relationship can be mediated through noncoercive influence strategies. The results also indicate that coercive influence has an inverted U-shaped effect and noncoercive influence has a U-shaped effect on opportunism.

This research serves as a launching point for further investigations into the “black box” of the double-edged effects of relational embeddedness. Other channel behavior constructs can be explored in future studies.

Firms should be aware of the benefits and pitfalls associated with relational embeddedness in marketing channels. They should be alert to using influence strategies when managing channel opportunism.

This study addresses the dilemma of embeddedness in marketing channel relationships and reveals its causes and mechanisms by exploring the mediating effects of influence strategies.

Despite the relatively long research continuum on IT capability and performance, the “IT capability-performance” link has remained hazy especially related to the mediating role of IT-based communication and networking overall. Therefore, this study investigates how IT capability affects Internet interactive practice and how it further affects marketing effectiveness and firm success.

The authors collected the survey data from 504 manufacturers in China, and structural equation modeling is used to test the hypotheses.

The results indicate that (1) IT capability has positive effects on both interorganizational systems (IOS)-enabled and social media (SM)-enabled interactive practice; (2) IOS-enabled interactive practice has a significant positive effect on both marketing and financial performance while SM-enabled interactive practice has a positive effect on marketing performance but no effect on financial performance; (3) IOS-enabled interactive practice mediates the effect of IT capability on marketing and financial performance while SM-enabled interactive practice only mediates the effect of IT capability on marketing performance; (4) marketing performance mediates the impact of IOS-enabled and SM-enabled interactive practice on financial performance.

This study has highlighted the role of social media practice in the relationship between IT capability and firm performance, which makes certain theoretical contributions to the existing research.

This paper aims to propose methods to evaluate the characteristic length of the melt pool for accurate fabrication and to identify the optimal process parameters in the selective laser melting process.

Specimens with the types of the scans by controlling the degree of the overlap with hatch spacing are fabricated. The scan modes are classified by statistically analyzing the results of hardness tests. According to the classification of the scans, the evaluation methods are proposed based on the observation of the shape of the solidified melt pool.

The control of the hatch spacing can reproduce all modes of the scan conditions, and hardness can be used to classify the scan modes.

The proposed evaluation methods are based on the analysis of the experimental observation so that they can be easily used for the real evaluation.