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1 – 10 of 642Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates how the gap between the host country's actual and optimal financial conditions affects foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows through evidence from China.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors first employ principal component analysis (PCA) to measure FDI target countries' actual financial conditions and use 30 OECD countries as a reference group to assess the optimal financial condition. The authors then estimate a two-way fixed effect model with panel data of China's outward FDI in 64 countries for the period 2003–2017 to get the regression results. The authors' results overcome endogeneity and are robust.
Findings
Results show that (1) the gaps between host countries' actual and optimal financial conditions positively affect FDI inflows from China; (2) there is a heterogeneous effect between low-income and high-income countries. The gaps for high-income countries significantly increase FDI inflows from China, while the gaps are not significant for low-income countries.
Research limitations/implications
The authors examine how the gap affects FDI inflows from China. An increase of 1% in the target country's gap promotes a 6.3% increase in FDI inflows. However, the authors do not explore what mechanisms are key to these results. The authors will explore these questions in the future.
Originality/value
This paper complements the influence factors of FDI and enriches theories of FDI. The gap between actual and optimal financial conditions plays an essential role in FDI flows across countries for policymakers.
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Shuai Yuan and Jun Shen
This paper aims to explore the feasible mining and proper selection of QoS‐aware services for a P2P‐based business process enactment framework, and enhance the relevant workflow…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the feasible mining and proper selection of QoS‐aware services for a P2P‐based business process enactment framework, and enhance the relevant workflow prototype. Design/methodology/approach – Through observing and analysing unpredictable dynamic changes that commonly exist in e‐service workflow, a set of QoS specifications and monitoring mechanisms in a P2P workflow framework is proposed. These specifications are an evolving extension of services' description with semantic web facilitators for P2P‐based e‐services.
Findings
It has been demonstrated that the QoS‐OWL approach can be effectively used to describe and exploit e‐services, particularly in a decentralised environment. QoS‐OWL is also able to provide the deliberation of geographic information for e‐services, and facilitates the peers' effective cooperation and automates business processes. It is recommended that the approach be adopted in the dynamic online information system environment to increase efficiency and reduce costs in running e‐services.
Practical implications
The QoS attributes discussed in this paper are relatively typical for benchmarking purposes, so the extension of the QoS metrics specifications and related protocols need to be discussed in future work.
Originality/value
The authors propose an approach to dynamically selecting appropriate service‐oriented peers in a P2P network, where the composition of e‐services in a business process can be enhanced significantly. The approach is based on ontology and QoS perspectives, and the descriptions of services have rich semantic features in an attempt to make the service selection more intelligent and reliable. Therefore the proposal offers e‐service providers innovative initiatives to re‐engineer their business services.
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Ilan Alon, Hua Wang, Jun Shen and Wenxian Zhang
The aim of this research is to examine the Chinese outward direct investment (ODI) from the perspectives of the Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs), focusing on their…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this research is to examine the Chinese outward direct investment (ODI) from the perspectives of the Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs), focusing on their perceptions and important factors in the decision-making process. More specifically, it aims to understand where and why Chinese SOEs are investing. Increasingly integrated into the global economy, China has already become one of the largest investment economies in the world.
Design/methodology/approach
Conducted by the China Center at Rollins College in collaboration with the Kedge Business School and the China Executive Leadership Academy at Pudong, survey data are collected from 63 Chinese SOEs that reflect the structure of Chinese industry and the membership of the China Council for the Promotion of International trade.
Findings
Chinese SOEs have aligned their business expansion plans with the national priority, and played a dominant role in the current internationalization drive. They will likely increase their overseas investment substantially in both short and medium terms; their key business efforts include resource extraction, trading, services and manufacturing. Whereas Chinese ODIs tend to focus on the emerging economies in Asia, Africa and Latin America, more investments begin to take place in various developed countries, and many Chinese SOEs plan to increase their ODI in the USA, regarded as the most important market for overseas investment.
Originality/value
This research contributes to a better understanding on the growing ODIs by the Chinese SOEs since the launch of the “going global” policy.
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In recent years, many U.S. direct marketers have expanded their efforts into Asia. A few studies of consumers’ attitudes towards direct marketing were conducted outside of the…
Abstract
In recent years, many U.S. direct marketers have expanded their efforts into Asia. A few studies of consumers’ attitudes towards direct marketing were conducted outside of the United States in order to ascertain their attitudes towards direct marketing, privacy, environmental concerns, and trust issues. International direct marketers must take care to respect these issues before entering new countries, such as Taiwan and other emerging markets. The following article reports the results of a survey done in both the U.S. and Taiwan.
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The purpose of this guest editorial is to introduce the papers in this special issue.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this guest editorial is to introduce the papers in this special issue.
Design/methodology/approach
A brief introduction about the issue of web‐mining applications in e‐commerce and e‐services is provided, along with a summary of the main contributions of the papers that are included in the special issue.
Findings
The value of web‐mining techniques can be enhanced through applying them to real environments such as e‐commerce and e‐services. The research fields of web mining, e‐commerce and e‐services can also be expanded.
Originality/value
An overview of the special issue and related research is provided in this paper.
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Keywords
Jun-Hui Chai, Jun-Ping Zhong, Bo Xu, Zi-Jian Zhang, Zhengxiang Shen, Xiao-Long Zhang and Jian-Min Shen
The high-pressure accumulator has been widely used in the hydraulic system. Failure pressure prediction is crucial for the safe design and integrity assessment of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The high-pressure accumulator has been widely used in the hydraulic system. Failure pressure prediction is crucial for the safe design and integrity assessment of the accumulators. The purpose of this study is to accurately predict the burst pressure and location for the accumulator shells due to internal pressure.
Design/methodology/approach
This study concentrates the non-linear finite element simulation procedure, which allows determination of the burst pressure and crack location using extensive plastic straining criterion. Meanwhile, the full-scale hydraulic burst test and the analytical solution are conducted for comparative analysis.
Findings
A good agreement between predicted and measured the burst pressure that was obtained, and the predicted failure point coincided very well with the fracture location of the actual shell very well. Meanwhile, the burst pressure of the shells increases with wall thickness, independent of the length. It can be said that the non-linear finite element method can be employed to predict the failure behavior of a cylindrical shell with sufficient accuracy.
Originality/value
This paper can provide a designer with additional insight into how the pressurized hollow cylinder might fail, and the failure pressure has been predicted accurately with a minimum error below 1%, comparing the numerical results with experimental data.
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Keywords
Xiao-Liang Shen, Yang-Jun Li and Yongqiang Sun
Wearable health information systems (IS) open up a new era for personal health self-management, and bring about disruptive changes to individual lives. However, prior studies on…
Abstract
Purpose
Wearable health information systems (IS) open up a new era for personal health self-management, and bring about disruptive changes to individual lives. However, prior studies on IS post-adoptive behavior primarily focused on either continuance or discontinuance, neglecting the mutual transformation process between IS usage and rejection behavior. This behavior is expressed as intermittent discontinuance in the current study. By revising and extending the expectation-disconfirmation model, the purpose of this paper is to understand the factors affecting information system intermittent discontinuance in the context of wearable eHealth.
Design/methodology/approach
This study proposes a revised expectation-disconfirmation model by incorporating four new theoretical constructs, i.e. neutral disconfirmation, attitudinal ambivalence, neutral satisfaction, and intermittent discontinuance. An online survey was used to validate the research model, and 428 wearable health device users were recruited in this study.
Findings
Empirical results demonstrate that neutral disconfirmation exerts positive effects on neutral satisfaction and attitudinal ambivalence, both of which further have positive effects on intermittent discontinuance. In addition, attitudinal ambivalence also has a positive and significant effect on neutral satisfaction.
Originality/value
This study extends the current understanding on IS post-adoption usage behavior by introducing a new concept, i.e., intermittent discontinuance. In particular, post-adoption usage behavior is viewed as a dynamic process within a changing environment in this study. Some unique features specific to intermittent discontinuance are also identified. In this regard, neutral and conflicting constructs further add new values to IS adoption and diffusion literature. In addition, the integration of eHealth and wearable devices provides a fruitful research context for future research, and this study represents one of the first attempts to empirically explore the intermittent usage problems encountered within this emerging phenomenon.
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Jun Lin, Zhiqi Shen, Chunyan Miao and Siyuan Liu
With the rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) market and requirement, low power wide area (LPWA) technologies have become popular. In various LPWA technologies, Narrow…
Abstract
Purpose
With the rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) market and requirement, low power wide area (LPWA) technologies have become popular. In various LPWA technologies, Narrow Band IoT (NB-IoT) and long range (LoRa) are two main leading competitive technologies. Compared with NB-IoT networks, which are mainly built and managed by mobile network operators, LoRa wide area networks (LoRaWAN) are mainly operated by private companies or organizations, which suggests two issues: trust of the private network operators and lack of network coverage. This study aims to propose a conceptual architecture design of a blockchain built-in solution for LoRaWAN network servers to solve these two issues for LoRaWAN IoT solution.
Design/methodology/approach
The study proposed modeling, model analysis and architecture design.
Findings
The proposed solution uses the blockchain technology to build an open, trusted, decentralized and tamper-proof system, which provides the indisputable mechanism to verify that the data of a transaction has existed at a specific time in the network.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that integrates blockchain technology and LoRaWAN IoT technology.
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Yang-Jun Li, Christy M.K. Cheung, Xiao-Liang Shen and Matthew K.O. Lee
As digital spaces for team collaboration, virtual worlds bring considerable verisimilitude to technology-mediated social interaction and change the process of traditional team…
Abstract
Purpose
As digital spaces for team collaboration, virtual worlds bring considerable verisimilitude to technology-mediated social interaction and change the process of traditional team learning. The purpose of this study is to understand how to promote collaborative learning in virtual worlds by leveraging the power of we-intention to participate in virtual worlds. The authors further use the valence–instrumentality–self-efficacy–trust model (VIST) model as a means of understanding the formation of we-intention to participate in virtual worlds, during which behavioral desire serves a bridging role.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors tested the research model using the data gathered from 298 users of a prominent form of virtual world, i.e. massively multiplayer online role-playing games. The authors used the structural equation modeling approach and the partial least squares technique for data analysis.
Findings
Results show that the four factors of the VIST model (i.e. valence on team goals, instrumentality of contribution, self-efficacy in team tasks and trust in team members) all positively influence we-intention to participate in virtual worlds through behavioral desire for team actions. We-intention to participate in virtual worlds further exerts a stronger positive effect on collaborative learning in virtual worlds, compared with I-intention to participate in virtual worlds.
Originality/value
This work advances the information systems literature by introducing a relevant and important concept, i.e. we-intention, to explain collaborative learning in virtual worlds. This study especially compared the effect of we-intention and I-intention on collaborative learning in virtual worlds. The results of this work also provide practitioners with insights into the role of we-intention in promoting collective actions in virtual worlds.
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Jun Xie, Qihai Huang, Hongli Wang and Minghao Shen
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the curvilinear relationship between perceived negative workplace gossip and target employee’s task performance, and the moderating…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the curvilinear relationship between perceived negative workplace gossip and target employee’s task performance, and the moderating roles of perceived organizational support (POS).
Design/methodology/approach
Using a sample of 275 supervisor–subordinate dyads in a two-wave survey, the authors adopted a hierarchical regression analysis to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results revealed that there is a U-shaped relationship between perceived negative workplace gossip and task performance. Moreover, POS moderated the curvilinear relationship such that the curvilinear relationship is more pronounced among those with lower POS.
Research limitations/implications
This study does not explore the mediating mechanism of how perceived negative gossip affects the target’s task performance. Moreover, as this research was conducted in a Chinese context, the question of the generalizability of the findings calls for more attention.
Practical implications
When the negative gossip is still in its early stages, managers should realize the potential threat to target employees and take measures to stop and minimize negative gossiping and rumormongering. Furthermore, managers should do their best to find the optimal levels of organizational support for target employees.
Originality/value
This study is among the first effort to understand how perceived negative gossip can influence the target employees’ performance by proposing and demonstrating a nonlinear relationship. Moreover, by illuminating how POS plays a role in the curvilinear relationship between negative gossip and task performance, the authors not only complement but also extend the literature on workplace gossip and organizational support.
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