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This paper aims to examine the effect of government support on the innovation performance of firms in the Chinese context.

We divided government support into vertical support and horizontal support, and adopted an empirical research approach in this study. We collected the data of 343 enterprises in China that had been identified as innovative enterprises, including their characteristic data, government support data and patent data. Negative binomial regression was used to quantitatively examine the relationship between government support and the innovation performance of firms.

Both vertical support in the form of direct research and development (R&D) subsidies and horizontal support in the form of regional innovation policy positively influence the innovation performance of firms. In addition, direct R&D subsidies are more likely to experience the enhanced benefits of carrying out tax credit policy on the innovation performance of firms.

This study contributed to the innovation literature by distinguishing two types of government support, namely, vertical support and horizontal support, and assessing the effects of government support on firm innovation in the Chinese context.

The paper aims to investigate organizational variables and develop their relationship with horizontal strategy. The cultural dimensions and organization structure have been considered as organizational variables. The study also aims to shed light on the implementation horizontal strategy in conglomerates.

A survey was carried out with 122 conglomerate firms for examination. These companies were chosen to be of different sizes and sectors. The multiple regression analysis was utilized to analyze the data.

The results reveal that conglomerate firms also have a horizontal strategy. Additionally, organizational cultural dimensions namely, collectivism, clan culture, market culture and long-term orientation; formal and informal relationship; and horizontal organization structure (HOS) have positive and significant relationship with horizontal strategy. No significant relationship was found between uncertainty avoidance and adhocracy culture, and horizontal strategy.

The major contributions of this study are explicitly identified as horizontal strategy exists in the conglomerate firms where the few organizational variables play a significant role in horizontal strategy implementation.

This study has been done in an effort to make supporting guidelines to fill the gaps in conglomerate firms. This study offers an effective role of cultural dimensions and structure as drivers of horizontal strategy implementation, and this study spells out and extends the literature and proposes a conceptual framework.

Software and software‐based services (SSBS) are a major domain of the European ICT industry and are recognised as a key element in developing the information society. This article aims to shed light on the various strategies, policies and activities pursued by the EU and its member states.

The article is based on a survey of national programmes that are aimed specifically or in substantial part at the software sector. This analysis and assessment usually faces two challenges: unlike other technologies that have the same significance and/or the same attractiveness, the SSBS industry is a very dynamic one, due to several specific characteristics; and there are increasing inter‐dependencies between the European and national levels as well as between supply‐side and demand‐side policies, which require a more detailed analysis of the different national policies for the EU member states. Therefore a comparative analytical framework is used that takes account of the different composition and structure of the SSBS industries in EU member states.

The analysis shows that there are still great differences among the EU member states, but in general there is relatively little activity in European member state governments targeted specifically at fostering SSBS producers. However, as a result of the EU activities virtually all member states have implemented policies to foster the development towards an information society.

The paper highlights that normally these overall policies address and integrate both the supply side as well as the demand side. This is at least an improvement compared to recent years, when adaption, diffusion and application were taken for granted.

This paper aims to present how iterative round‐trip modelling between two different business process modelling tools can be enabled on a conceptual level. Iterative round‐trip modelling addresses model transformations between high‐level business and executable process models, and how to maintain these transformations in change time. Currently, the development of these process models is supported by different tools. To the authors' best knowledge, no coherent collaborative tool environment exists that supports iterative round‐trip modelling.

This paper is primarily based on a literature review of state‐of‐the‐art business to IT transformations regarding business process modelling. The architecture of integrated information systems (ARIS) and Cordys tools are used as an example case in this research. ARIS is a business process analysis (BPA) tool suited for analyzing and designing business processes, while the execution and monitoring of these processes is allowed by Cordys, a business process management suite (BPMS). The theory is used for transforming between ARIS event‐driven process chains from the business perspective and business process modelling notation in Cordys from the IT perspective.

A conceptual framework is proposed to couple a BPA and BPMS tool for round‐trip business process modelling. The framework utilizes concepts from the model‐driven architecture for structurally addressing interoperability and model transformations. Ensuring iterative development with two tools requires traceability of model transformations.

In many organizations, BPA and BPMS tools are used for business process modelling. These are in practice often two different worlds, while they concern around the same business processes. Maintaining multiple versions of the same process models across two tools is a considerable task, as they often are subject to design changes. Interoperability between a BPA and BPMS tool will minimize redundant activities, and reduce business to IT deployment time.

This research provides a theoretical base for coupling a BPA and BPMS tool regarding iterative round‐trip modelling. It provides an overview of the current state‐of‐the‐art literature of business process modelling transformations, and what is necessary for maintaining interoperability between tools. The findings indicate what is expected in tool support for iterative development in business process modelling from analysis and design to execution.

Carbon reduction in the construction industry is related to the achievement of carbon emission peaks and carbon neutrality targets. Therefore, exploring the influence of current carbon reduction policies on the construction industry is necessary. China’s low-carbon pilot (LCP) policy has been extensively studied, while LCPs mechanism and effectiveness on carbon reduction in the construction industry remain to be explored.

This study selected four provincial LCP regions as case studies and adopted the grounded theory method for case studies to analyze the implementation mechanism of the LCP policy on carbon reduction in the construction industry. Then, this study adopted the propensity score matching and difference-in-differences regression (PSM-DID) approach to evaluate the influence of the LCP policy on carbon intensity (CI) in the construction industry by using panel data taken from 30 provinces in China between 2008 and 2017.

The authors found that (1) the LCP policy promotes carbon reduction in the construction industry through the crossing implementation mechanism of five vertical support approaches and five horizontal support approaches. (2). The LCP policy can significantly reduce CI in the construction industry.

The study not only explored how is the LCP policy implemented, but also examined the effectiveness of the LCP policy in the construction industry. The policy implications of this study can help policy-makers better achieve low-carbon development targets in the construction industry.

Flexible fixturing is an important aspect of any flexible manufacturing system (FMS) and computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) environment. The production analysis for fixturing within an FMS environment is presented. Various approaches to flexible fixturing are briefly described. The reconfigurable fixturing is one of the most appropriate flexible fixturing techniques for CIM environment. Reconfigurable and/or automated modular fixturing employs a number of fixture modules that are set up, adjusted and changed to form different fixture layout. The requirements for locating and constraining workpieces are presented. In addition, computer‐aided planning and analysis of fixture set up are discussed.

Presents algorithms for determining the paths employed by the Proteus rapid prototyping system when building three‐dimensional parts. Proteus is a fused deposition modeling system that extrudes a thermoplastic in beads through a nozzle. Determines within each layer of the layered manufacturing process, the material deposition paths as well as the regions where local structures are required to support these paths. Computes the paths with the goal of reducing the amount of supports needed to build the physical prototype of the part by taking advantage of the two novel manufacturing techniques of shelving and bridging that had been developed previously. The path planning algorithms presented are designed to utilize the above techniques and address the variety of conditions that appear in practice allowing the Proteus system to “build in air”.

This paper aims to present the Business Classification Scheme used by the Directorate General Environment of the European Commission.

The classification was developed following the functional methodology commonly recommended by existing records management guidelines and standards.

The outcome of the analysis is a double classification system that has been represented in a table. At the end level, the classes of both classifications coincide to define the same individual transactions. One of the classifications defines them as sub‐types of business activities and the other as the subjects or field of application of business operations.

The scheme reflects the different points of view that horizontal and line units have over the same groups of documents. In this sense, it facilitates document sharing and collaboration. It also promotes the organisation of records into similar types of files and, in so doing, facilitates management operations.

The table format gives visibility to the relations between transversal processes and business areas that constitute the activities of an organisation. These cannot be represented in a linear classification.

The aim with this paper is to describe current IT practices within maintenance in Swedish industry, and to outline the future possible developments.

The study is performed as a web‐based questionnaire survey consisting of 71 participants. A systems perspective is applied for capturing the most relevant aspects of IT utilisation.

The IT practices are characterised by high use of business‐specific IT solutions, low use of company‐wide IT solutions, low IT intensity and the client‐server architecture is dominating. The purchase decision and ownership of IT is to high extent tied to the maintenance function. Moreover, IT systems are apprehended as beneficial and connected to real needs. The findings imply a decentralised IT governance form and a mainly vertical (functional) IT support.

The socio‐technical approach suggested in this paper helps us to identify which areas to study, and also shows the tight interrelationship between different factors, layers and systems.

The study results could be used for benchmarking purposes or to highlight state‐of‐the‐art of IT utilisation in maintenance, and thereby set the topic on the corporate agenda.

Studies describing IT utilisation within maintenance in the form of case studies and surveys exist, but they mainly focus on one aspect. This study approached the problem from a socio‐technical perspective, covering several aspects connected to IT utilisation.

The purpose of this paper is to develop an assembly modelling approach to be applied with a software package, to assist in the design and assembly of special purpose machines (SPMs).

A database of SPM elements was established, and an assembly relationships graph was created. Mating conditions were identified between the SPM elements, and their assembly constraints were extracted and implemented in SolidWorks application programming interface.

The implementation of this assembly modelling approach was validated by selecting SPM layouts as examples. A significant reduction in the assembly time was achieved compared to the traditional assembly procedure for the same examples.

This is a new application of assembly modelling that assists engineers and designers in the design and assembly processes of SPMs. This approach can also be applied to other machine tools with similar attributes.