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Though often considered “the weaker sex,” women have led entrepreneurship to a popular phenomenon. Given their unique characteristics, women face different situations and difficulties than men, but they also enjoy unique advantages as entrepreneurs. SWOT analysis is used in this paper to draw a comprehensive evaluation of women from the aspects of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to give some suggestions for entrepreneurial platforms. Finally, a better vision is raised that more research will be proposed to provide theoretical guidance for female entrepreneurship.

Whilst there has been considerable research on the use of electronic communications technologies to transfer design files for Additive Manufacturing (AM) between designer and manufacturer, corresponding studies that explore the resulting implications are limited. Often it is assumed that such an electronic approach is optimal; this paper serves to explore this assumption by reviewing the technical solutions, and identifying the practical implications. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The results of a systematic literature review are used to develop four e-commerce channel designs, which are then explored using primary and secondary case studies.

It is shown that the use of e-commerce with AM has often been oversimplified, suggesting that it will bring about universal benefits through increased efficiency and cost reductions in information transfer, particularly as a result of supply chain disintermediation. Instead, this paper reinforces current e-commerce research suggesting that e-commerce channels can lead to both disintermediation but also re-intermediation of the supply chain; cost reductions and increased efficiency may not automatically follow.

For AM suppliers, channel strategy is likely to be a critical consideration. This paper provides a framework of currently available approaches, links these to the original research, and explains the implications arising from each option.

Whilst there are many technical studies in this area, the potential implications of their adoption are often hypothesized, but seldom explored empirically. This study makes an original contribution through the classification and analysis of the channels from a management perspective.

This study aims to review the existing methods for additive manufacturing (AM) process selection and evaluate their suitability for design for additive manufacturing (DfAM). AM has experienced a rapid development in recent years. New technologies, machines and service bureaus are being brought into the market at an exciting rate. While user’s choices are in abundance, finding the right choice can be a non-trivial task.

AM process selection methods are reviewed based on decision theory. The authors also examine how the user’s preferences and AM process performances are considered and approximated into mathematical models. The pros and cons and the limitations of these methods are discussed, and a new approach has been proposed to support the iterating process of DfAM.

All current studies follow a sequential decision process and focus on an “a priori” articulation of preferences approach. This kind of method has limitations for the user in the early design stage to implement the DfAM process. An “a posteriori” articulation of preferences approach is proposed to support DfAM and an iterative design process.

This paper reviews AM process selection methods in a new perspective. The users need to be aware of the underlying assumptions in these methods. The limitations of these methods for DfAM are discussed, and a new approach for AM process selection is proposed.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a systematic study to formulate the cost of prototypes manufactured through rapid prototyping (RP) an fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printer in a university lab.

The paper has a theoretical‐conceptual approach. This approach is carried out by studying and proposing a methodology for calculating the cost of pieces prototyped an FDM 3D printer.

This work originated from a gap in literature to establish a way to calculate the price of RP pieces from FDM 3D printers in universities' labs, since no similar work has dealt with this RP technology and has not taken into account the costs of post‐processing step. The results suggest that the formulation may be used to calculate price of prototyped pieces through FDM 3D printer.

The systematic approach proposed by this research to formulate cost for the RP pieces is initially oriented only to modelling technique by FDM 3D printer. Considerations on operator's and designer's hourly rates are those practiced in Brazil, which may differ from other countries.

The paper's scientific contribution is a specific formulation to calculate price of prototyped pieces through FDM considering the post‐processing way, which differs from previous published works. The formulation implies that the execution times and the amount of material used were obtained by internal calculation of the tested machine. This is different from what has been already studied by previous literature which considers an index that encompasses the machine operation cost in function of time. It is aimed that the results obtained here are accurate, since error margins of the process variables are reduced.

This paper aims to present an optimal prototyping technology for the manufacture of occlusal splints.

To carry out this study, a comparative technique was used to analyze models obtained by different prototyping techniques. Subsequently, further tests were carried out with respect to the manufacturing of splints by means of thermoforming in a vacuum. This involved an analysis of the most important variables such as prototype material, geometric accuracy, surface finish and costs.

It was found that there is a group of prototyping technologies that are suitable for the manufacture of the models used in the thermoforming of correction splints, the most appropriate technologies being based on ink jet printing (IJP-Objet), ultraviolet photo polymerization and fused deposition modelling due to the fact that they offer an optimal relationship between the cost and the quality of the model required for thermoforming.

The application of rapid prototyping techniques in medicine makes the production of physical models from three-dimensional medical image processing and their subsequent use in different specialties possible. It also makes preoperative planning processes, the production of prostheses and the preparation of surgical templates possible, thereby offering a higher quality of diagnosis, safer surgery and cost and time savings compared to conventional manufacturing technologies.

This paper suggests that there exists a group of prototyping technologies for the manufacture of splints that offer advantages over existing technologies. The results also suggest that, in many cases, the most expensive technology is not the most appropriate: there are other options that provide an optimal model in terms of the cost and the quality needed for thermoforming.

This chapter provides research results from a study of contemporary leadership approaches (i.e., paternalistic, charismatic, transformational, aesthetic, authentic, and pragmatic leadership) in eight Chinese organizations. Data were collected from case studies in four private-owned enterprises (POEs) and four state-owned enterprises (SOEs) through both interviews and questionnaires. The main purpose of this chapter is to provide contextual analysis of these findings by applying the concept of field from Bourdieu's sociology. This research contributes to the leadership literature by generalizing Western leadership theories to the Chinese context as well as by giving an insight into contemporary leadership approaches in modern Chinese business by deeply contextualizing these leadership behaviors.

To implement a risk-based regulatory approach, this paper aims to make an assessment on customers' money laundering risk and conducts some applications.

During the transition of a regulatory approach from “rule-based” to “risk-based”, this paper considers that the area of a customer, types of business and the industries to which the customer belongs are the main indicators to judge money laundering risk of a customer. Based on the statistical analysis of 221 typical money laundering cases, first-class index weights are given by using the entropy weight method and then by combining with the membership function, this paper determines a customer’s money laundering risk levels. On the basis of the entropy weight method, this paper uses the C5.0 algorithm to construct a decision tree model and then carries out application research on customer money laundering risk assessment to verify the effectiveness of the entropy weight method and the decision tree model.

This empirical research found the weights of three key money laundering indicators: customer areas, business types and corresponding industries.

Asserting that current money laundering risk assessments of customers are marginal at best, this paper contends from the perspective of practice, and applies the entropy weight method and the decision tree model for money laundering risk assessment of customers.

The current world recession highlights the widespread difficulty government and business leaders have in managing national industrial economies to use existing technology, plant and equipment, and most importantly, human resources. Unemployment in the OECD countries rose to 29.3 million in 1982, and was expected to reach 32 million by the end of 1983. GNP in these countries fell from a general growth rate of 3.4 per cent in 1979 to minus 0.5 per cent in the first half of 1982. However, managers of business organisations must, as they have always tried to do, anticipate changes in their economic and social environment which will affect them and their organisations, and attempt to cope with them. What important social trends are impacting on organisations in the non‐communist industrial world, and what are the implications for managers and for management developers over the next decade?

Pay for performance has been studied in Western nations, but much less so in China and its non‐public enterprises. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current situation of pay for performance in China's non‐public firms, specifically the importance of pay for performance in the current pay system and reasons for adopting pay for performance plans by the management.

A multi‐case study of non‐public sector, knowledge intensive firms based in Shanghai, China is presented. In total, 12 private‐owned, joint ventures and multinational companies from pharmaceutical, information technology and investment industries are included.

This paper explores that pay for performance has been widely used in non‐public sector as an important component of the employee pay mix. Performance also plays a role as a key norm in employee pay determinant plans. Three major factors are identified as reasons for management to apply pay for performance plans. The first concerns external factors – market practices/best practices; while the other two factors are internal reasons – the need to attract and retain good performers as well as the need to improve employee performance.

This paper discusses the content and context changes of pay for performance practices in China after the economic reforms in 1978 to present. It is now evident that Chinese firms are becoming much more receptive to performance‐oriented rewards.

The purpose of this article is to emphasise the development, importance and pressures on the under‐researched area of Chinese small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and human resource management (HRM) and provide a review and research agenda, especially relating to the debate on convergence vis‐à‐vis divergence.

Recent research papers are discussed and possible convergence and the pressures on HRM and its practice in Chinese SMEs are examined. Key elements in Chinese HRM are highlighted. Four main dimensions of HRM are compared in terms of western and Chinese characteristics and their cultural impacts and problems. A conceptual framework to locate influences on Chinese HRM is outlined as well as a set of propositions for future research and examination of key HRM areas.

The continuing influences on HRM suggest that a distinctly Chinese HRM approach combining western practice with Chinese characteristics may be one way for SMEs to develop.

It is central to a better understanding of Chinese SMEs and helps fill some of the gap in the analysis of HRM in Chinese SMEs. It also offers insights which managers, policy makers and Chinese government can use to construct and reform the supporting system for SMEs.