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1 – 10 of 64Qinghua Xia, Qing Zhu, Manqing Tan and Yi Xie
Innovation ambidexterity is crucial for fostering growth and gaining a competitive advantage in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Previous research indicates that achieving a…
Abstract
Purpose
Innovation ambidexterity is crucial for fostering growth and gaining a competitive advantage in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Previous research indicates that achieving a balance between exploration and exploitation is a multifaceted phenomenon occurring across various levels. This paper aims to examine the influence of individual, organizational and institutional factors on the ambidextrous innovation of Chinese niche leaders using a configurational perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses secondary data collected from 69 Chinese niche leaders in the new equipment manufacturing industry. The authors use fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to investigate how owner openness, age, digitization, the formal institutional environment and the informal institutional environment jointly influence innovation ambidexterity.
Findings
By using fuzzy set analysis, this study categorizes combinations of interdependent factors that promote innovation ambidexterity. In particular, the authors pinpoint three configurations that foster high innovation ambidexterity and two configurations that lack such high levels of innovation ambidexterity. The analysis results suggest that innovation paradoxes in SMEs are linked to a nested system comprising leadership, organizational factors and the institutional environment.
Originality/value
This study elucidates the mechanism of innovation ambidexterity through a configurational perspective. This research proposes and validates a framework that enables SMEs to develop ambidextrous innovation capabilities, thereby integrating organizational ambidexterity theory and shedding light on the intricately complex nature of innovation ambidexterity.
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Elif Epçaçan, İdil Gönül, Hatice Merve Bayram and Murat Gürbüz
This study aims to examine the relationship between neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), handgrip strength (HGS) and nutritional status in non-critically ill patients and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the relationship between neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), handgrip strength (HGS) and nutritional status in non-critically ill patients and outpatients.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional study was conducted on 80 geriatric patients. Nutritional status was evaluated using the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form, Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index, some anthropometric and biochemical parameters. NLR was calculated from the complete blood count results. Data were analyzed using SPSS 24.0.
Findings
While 38.3% of patients were malnourished or at risk of malnutrition, 61.7% had normal nutritional status. Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form was not correlated with NLR, whereas it showed a weak positive correlation with HGS. According to the logistic regression analysis, age, HGS, hemoglobin and platelet to lymphocyte ratio were significant independent factors for predicting malnutrition or risk of malnutrition. The receiver operator characteristic curve analysis showed that the optimum HGS cut-off point for patients with malnourished or at risk of malnutrition was 13.2. In conclusion, HGS was associated with the nutritional status. NLR was not associated with nutritional status but associated with nutritional risk.
Originality/value
It is well known that malnutrition is a serious health problem among older adults, and it is important to assess the nutritional status of older adults because of the adverse health effects. In addition, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to determine the relationship between NLR, HGS and nutritional status in non-critically ill patients and outpatients.
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Fenglian Wang, Qing Su and Zongming Zhang
This study is aimed at making an inspection of the effects of collaborative innovation network characteristics on firm innovation performance, and the intermediary roles of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study is aimed at making an inspection of the effects of collaborative innovation network characteristics on firm innovation performance, and the intermediary roles of knowledge transfer efficiency is taken into account.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a convenient sampling method to obtain population and samples. Using data obtained by publishing online and paper questionnaires, and using on-site interviews in Anhui Province in the Yangtze River Delta region of China, descriptive analysis, regression analysis and correlation analysis are utilized to study the direct influence of collaborative innovation network characteristics on knowledge transfer efficiency as well as firm innovation performance, and the intermediary roles of knowledge transfer efficiency on firm innovation performance, respectively. In this study, 3,000 questionnaires were distributed to the employees of enterprises engaged in research and development (R&D) activities, of which 2,560 were valid. With the help of SPSS24.0 software, the reliability and validity of the questionnaire was analyzed.
Findings
The results are indicative of that network centrality and relationship strength positively affect knowledge transfer efficiency and firm innovation performance. Nevertheless, network scale has no significant correlation with knowledge transfer efficiency and enterprise innovation performance. In addition, knowledge transfer efficiency is an intermediary between collaborative innovation network characteristics and enterprise innovation performance, and positively affects enterprise innovation performance, which demonstrated that managers should take advantage of collaborative innovation network characteristics to elevate knowledge transfer efficiency because well-realized transferals of knowledge can help accelerate the coordination of resources in knowledge, and finally bring about the advancement of firm's innovation abilities and performance.
Research limitations/implications
There are few previous studies that fully examined the relationships among collaborative innovation network characteristics, knowledge transfer efficiency and firm innovation performance. This paper developed previous researches on the relationships between collaborative innovation network characteristics, knowledge transfer efficiency and firm innovation performance. The mediation of knowledge transfer efficiency on the relationship between collaborative innovation network characteristics and firm innovation performance is analyzed. Further, studies on collaborative innovation network characteristics using data obtained from employees engaged in R&D activities are very limited in the literature. On account of that, the findings in this study may make sense to the innovation ability of innovative enterprise and expand the literature in the field of enterprise strategic management and knowledge management.
Practical implications
This analysis shows that collaborative innovation network characteristics have both positive and negative effects on firm innovation performance. Therefore, business managers should pay attention to their position in the collaborative innovation network and maintain the relationship strength with other innovation subjects. Special consideration should be given to the knowledge transfer of innovative enterprises, so as to improve firm innovation performance practically.
Originality/value
The study may provide additional understandings for researchers, government managers, universities and enterprises with regard to strategic management from the visual angle of innovation ecosystems. It is instrumental in the exploration of the mechanisms enabling firm innovation performance.
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Chao Yuan, Xiang Kong and Pinyu Chen
This study aims to examine the role of authenticity in tourists’ destination selection, analyze the factors that influence tourists to form their initial opinions and explore how…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the role of authenticity in tourists’ destination selection, analyze the factors that influence tourists to form their initial opinions and explore how tourists construct the authenticity of traditional villages. The authors selected Chengkan village in Huizhou district, Huangshan city, as a case. In the study, the authors constructed an attribute-hardware-software research framework and analyzed tourists’ authentic emic experiences from the perspective of constructivism. The findings of this study suggest that tourists’ destination selection is influenced by authenticity. The destination culture brokers who interact with tourists play an essential role in forming authentic experiences. According to differences in how tourists construct authenticity, the study divided tourists into three types: primitive imagination, aesthetic reality and rational cognition. The results of this study provide a deeper understanding of various viewpoints about authenticity research and contribute to the academic discussion on how to understand the authenticity of unique cultural heritage sites such as traditional villages in the context of tourism development.
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Wang Qing, Asif Ali Safeer and Muhammad Saqib Khan
This paper aims to examine the influence of social media communications, particularly firm-generated content (FGC) and consumer-generated content (CGC) on predicting consumer…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the influence of social media communications, particularly firm-generated content (FGC) and consumer-generated content (CGC) on predicting consumer purchase decisions (CPD) through the lens of perceived brand authenticity (PBA). This paper also investigates the moderating influence of brand prestige (BP) and brand familiarity in the luxury hotel sector.
Design/methodology/approach
This study collected data from 390 consumers who were regularly using social media platforms, traveled frequently and stayed in luxury hotels. Following stringent data filtering, 371 responses were analyzed via structural equation modeling.
Findings
The findings indicate that FGC and CGC significantly strengthened PBA. However, CGC was the effective driver that directly influenced CPD. Likewise, PBA directly and indirectly substantially impacted CPD. Finally, BP’s direct and moderating effects significantly influenced CPD in the luxury hotel sector.
Originality/value
This novel study contributes to signaling theory, social media communications and branding literature in the luxury hotel sector.
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Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to explore the spatial accessibility dynamics of urban parks and their driving forces from 1901 to 2010 in terms of the dynamic relationships between spatial morphology and road networks, taking Nanjing City as an example.
Design/methodology/approach
This study mapped and examined the spatiotemporal distribution of urban parks and road networks in four time points at Nanjing: the 1910s, 1930s, 1960s and 2010s, using the analysis methodology of spatial design network analysis, kernel density estimation and buffer analysis. Two approaches of spatial overlaying and data analysis were adopted to investigate the accessibility dynamics. The spatial overlaying compared the parks' layout and the road networks' core, subcore and noncore accessible areas; the data analysis clarified the average data on the city-wide and local scales of the road networks within the park buffer zone.
Findings
The analysis of the changing relationships between urban parks and the spatial morphology of road networks showed that the accessibility of urban parks has generally improved. This was influenced by six main factors: planning implementation, political policies, natural resources, historical heritage and cultural and economic levels.
Social implications
The results provide a reference for achieving spatial equity, improving urban park accessibility and supporting sustainable urban park planning.
Originality/value
An increasing number of studies have explored the spatial accessibility of urban parks through the relationships between their spatial distribution and road networks. However, few studies have investigated the dynamic changes in accessibility over time. Discussing parks' accessibility over relatively long-time scales has practical, innovative and theoretical values; because it can reveal correlational laws and internal influences not apparent in short term and provide reference and implications for parks' spatial equity.
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Ruggero Sainaghi and Aurelio G. Mauri
This study explores the short- and medium-term effects generated by the Milan Expo 2015, adopting a microeconomic approach. The focus is on the hospitality sector. The study…
Abstract
This study explores the short- and medium-term effects generated by the Milan Expo 2015, adopting a microeconomic approach. The focus is on the hospitality sector. The study embraces nine years, identifying three intervals: pre- (2011–2014), during- (2015) and post-Expo (2016–2019). The time span does not include the Covid-19 pandemic period, which started in 2020. The dataset is composed of daily data. Three research questions are explored. First, an overall evaluation of the short- and medium-term effects is performed. Second, the seasonal effects are measured. Finally, the impacts for different classes of hotels are considered. The findings are supportive for the legacy generated by the Milan Expo. The results confirm the ability of the Milan Expo to strengthen the leisure segment. Positive results have been observed for all classes of hotels, relevantly augmenting the real revenue per available room (RevPAR). Luxury hotels achieved the highest increase of RevPAR, while economy class hotels registered the highest percentage of increase of RevPAR.
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Luwei Zhao, Qing’e Wang, Bon-Gang Hwang and Alice Yan Chang-Richards
The purpose of this study is to develop a new hybrid method that combines interpretative structural modeling (ISM) and matrix cross-impact multiplication applied to classification…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop a new hybrid method that combines interpretative structural modeling (ISM) and matrix cross-impact multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC) to investigate the influencing factors of sustainable infrastructure vulnerability (SIV).
Design/methodology/approach
(1) Literature review and case study were used to identify the possible influencing factors; (2) a semi-structured interview was conducted to identify representative factors and the interrelationships among influencing factors; (3) ISM was adopted to identify the hierarchical structure of factors; (4) MICMAC was used to analyze the driving power (DRP) and dependence power (DEP) of each factor and (5) Semi-structured interview was used to propose strategies for overcoming SIV.
Findings
Results indicate that (1) 18 representative factors related to SIV were identified; (2) the relationship between these factors was divided into a five-layer hierarchical structure. The 18 representative factors were divided into driving factors, dependent factors, linkage factors and independent factors and (3) 12 strategies were presented to address the negative effects of these factors.
Originality/value
The findings illustrate the factors influencing SIV and their hierarchical structures, which can benefit the stakeholders and practitioners of an infrastructure project by encouraging them to take effective countermeasures to deal with related SIVs.
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Longjun Liu, Jing Long, Qing Fan, Wenhai Wan and Ruhong Liu
This study aims to explore the influence mechanism of digital platform capability on firm performance in the business-to-business (B2B) context. This study draws on the core…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the influence mechanism of digital platform capability on firm performance in the business-to-business (B2B) context. This study draws on the core competence theory and the resource-based view and includes resource identification, resource allocation and intrapreneurship into the research framework.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 167 B2B firms with survey questionnaires in central, eastern and southeastern coastal areas of China. The firms were mainly involved in e-commerce, manufacturing, service industry and internet technology. Participants were mainly middle and senior managers with a comprehensive grasp of their firms’ information.
Findings
This study found that digital platform capability has a positive impact on a B2B firm’s performance. Resource identification, resource allocation and intrapreneurship play a chain mediating role between digital platform capability and firm performance. That is, digital platform capability could promote employee intrapreneurship through resource identification and resource allocation, thereby improving firm performance.
Practical implications
Aiming to gain performance, firms should pay attention to the construction of digital platforms, increase venture capital investment and provide more resources to support intrapreneurship.
Originality/value
Based on empirical evidence, to the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to link digital platform capability and firm performance in the B2B context of emerging markets, providing a new perspective to clarify its relationship mechanism.
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This study examines how informal business networks achieve marketing goals in socially uncertain contexts. Drawing from multiple historical sources, Shangbangs, a type of business…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines how informal business networks achieve marketing goals in socially uncertain contexts. Drawing from multiple historical sources, Shangbangs, a type of business network that thrived in pre-1949 China, are analyzed.
Design/methodology/approach
The Critical Historical Research Method (CHRM) undergirds a study of Shangbangs’ historicity (i.e. their socio-historically embedded multiplicity, including organizational forms, activities and connotations.
Findings
As informal regional, professional, project-based, special-product-based or mixed marketing networks, Shangbangs relied on “flexible specialization” and coupled multiple business needs to market goods and services, business organizations, specific social values and, when necessary, to debrand business rivals.
Research limitations/implications
This analysis extends theories about marketing networks by probing their subtypes, diverse marketing activities, multipronged channels and relationship building with social entities (including underground societies, business associations and guilds) in response to pre-1949 China’s market uncertainties. Substantiating an alternative approach to “flexible specialization” and marketing innovations within the pre-1949 Chinese economy shows how a parallel theoretical framework can complement western-based marketing theories.
Originality/value
This first comprehensive analysis of Shangbangs, an innovative historical Chinese marketing network outside the conventional market-corporate dichotomy, can inform theory building for marketing strategy-making and management conditioned by social contexts.
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