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Prefabricated construction (PC) can benefit construction industry due to its high efficiency, energy saving, consumption reduction and safety. However, the high capital cost is a critical challenge hindering its development in China. The collaboration of PC stakeholders is conducive to improving cost management efficiency and optimizing resource allocation which has been ignored in previous studies. Therefore, this study aims to explore the collaboration paths of stakeholders in the process of solving critical cost influencing factors (CIFs) of PC to reduce costs.

Firstly, 25 CIFs and five main stakeholders that affect PC capital cost were identified through literature research and expert interviews. Then, questionnaires were used to investigate the relationship between stakeholders and CIFs from the perspectives of three stakeholder attributes of proximity, attitude and power, respectively. Finally, based on the survey data, three stakeholder-CIF networks from three attributes perspective and a comprehensive network were constructed and used for subsequent social network analysis.

(1) Stakeholders mainly show willingness and potential to collaborate on organization and management factors; (2) More stakeholders pay attention to incentive policies and the setting of prefabrication rates and assembly rates, while all stakeholders have the right to facilitate information and resource sharing in the PC supply chain; (3) The comprehensive network shows a core-periphery structure. As core stakeholders, contractor, designer and manufacturer are more likely to actively manage the 14 core CIFs.

This paper innovatively combined stakeholder and cost management in PC, and used two-mode network based on three stakeholder perspectives to reveal the collaboration potential and motivation of stakeholders in PC cost management. The findings not only provide guidance for stakeholders to find potential partners and optimize resource allocation in solving specific cost issues, but also facilitate stakeholders' sustainable collaboration to achieve PC's cost performance.

Trajectory tracking is an important issue to underactuated unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). However, parametric uncertainties and environmental disturbances bring great challenges to the precise trajectory tracking control of USVs. This paper aims to propose a robust trajectory tracking control algorithm with exponential stability for underactuated USVs with parametric uncertainties and unknown environmental disturbances.

In this method, the backstepping method and sliding mode control method are combined to ensure that the underactuated USV can track and maintain the desired trajectory. In addition, a modified switching-gain adaptation algorithm is adopted to enhance the robustness and reduce chattering. Besides, the global exponential stability of the closed-loop system is proved by Lyapunov’s direct method.

The proposed method in this paper offers a robust trajectory tracking solution to underactuated USVs and it is verified by simulations and experiments. Compared with the traditional proportion-integral-derivative method and several state-of-the-art algorithms, the proposed method has superior performance in simulation and experimental results.

This paper proposes a robust trajectory tracking control algorithm with exponential stability for underactuated USVs. The proposed method achieves exponential stability with better robustness and transient performance.

Hydrodynamic parameter estimation is significant for the velocity prediction of unmanned surface vehicles. Considering the field data’s uncertain nonlinearities (environmental disturbances and measurement noise), this paper aims to propose a hybrid adaptive parameter estimation (HAPE) strategy.

First, a rough estimation of hydrodynamic parameters is used by the least squares method. Second, an improved adaptive parameter estimation algorithm is applied to compensate for the influence of uncertain nonlinearities and adjust the parameters within the rough range. Finally, it is proved that the calculated velocity asymptotically converges to the actual value during the parameter estimation procedure.

The numerical simulation and pool experiments are conducted in two scenarios of steady turning and sinusoidal thrust to verify the effectiveness of the proposed HAPE method. The results validate that the accuracy of the predicted velocity using the hydrodynamic model obtained by the HAPE strategy is better than the APE algorithm. In addition, the hydrodynamic parameters estimated with the sinusoidal thrust data are more applicable than the steady turning data.

This study proposes a HAPE strategy that considers the uncertain nonlinearities of the field data. This method provides a more accurate predicted velocity. Besides, as far as we know, it is the first time to analyze the influence of different test conditions on the accuracy of the predicted velocity.

Large-scale mobile radars are still erected manually by using lifting equipment, which often fails to meet the requirements on precision, quality and efficiency in the erecting process. This paper aims to introduce techniques for automatic assembly of large mobile radar antenna.

A large-scale metrology system for accurate identification of the positions and orientation of the radar antenna components is presented. A novel three-degree-of-freedom parallel mechanism is designed to realize orientation adjustment of three axes synchronous, and, thus guarantees the efficiency and accuracy of positioning process.

The system described in this paper is practicable in outdoor environment and provides a holistic solution that gives full consideration of the operation conditions and the environmental influences. In performance evaluation tests, the measured absolute accuracy is less than ±1 mm and repeatability is less than ±0.5 mm in the positioning task for 10 × 3 m large antenna.

This paper presents a new concept of an automatic assembly technology for the large radar antenna application.

Global production networks (GPN) propel process and product upgrading of the latecomer firm (LCF), promoting its present operating efficiency on one hand, but, on the other hand, probably hindering the LCF's function and chain upgrading, resulting in the undermining of its future adaptive capability. Previous studies have suggested that ambidexterity is influential to the upgrading of the LCF. However, little is known about how the LCF builds ambidexterity to upgrade in GPN. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the LCF constructs ambidexterity resulting from tie diversity to break through the upgrading dilemma.

This paper intends to fill relevant gaps in the literatures on the LCF and explore the emerging fields of ambidexterity. The authors employ a longitudinal case study by examining how a manufacturer – Haitian Group – originating from China's plastic equipment industry has managed its diverse ties to build ambidexterity over the past 20 years.

The research reveals that: the key to successfully transferring from process and product upgrading to function or chain upgrading in GPN for the LCF is to establish its ambidexterity over time; LCF could achieve ambidexterity through creating diverse ties in GPN, namely develop diverse cooperative partners and patterns in different value functions over time; and the process of the LCF building ambidexterity in GPN is incremental, which needs the previous exploitation as a basis.

Previous studies have paid little attention to how the LCF makes use of tie diversity to build ambidexterity to sustainable upgrading in GPN. This paper fills the gaps and contributes to the theory of upgrading in GPN.

The purpose of this paper is to explain how institutional elements and market conditions shape and then reshape the development of high‐tech industries in large emerging countries.

This paper develops a new framework to assess the impact of market and institutions on the high‐tech industry evolution in large emerging economies such as China. The qualitative approach based on historical data and interviews are provided to support the framework.

The framework and empirical research suggest that the institution systems and market dynamics will interact and influence the transformation process of industrial structure and the strategic choice of partnership arrangement between the domestic and foreign firms. The complementary assets which are considered as proxy to the resource accessibility in the market are also identified in the framework and it was verified in the case study.

This study has important implications for business strategy in emerging economies. The authors' observations indicate building close ties with domestic firms is an important asset to minimize the liability of foreignness for multinational firms. The paper has alluded to co‐evolutionary dynamics in the development of high‐tech industry in China by linking market initiative with institutional environment.

First, the study contributes to institutional‐based view of business strategy by explaining the choice of strategic partnerships between indigenous and foreign players arising from institutional and market considerations. Second, the study extends our understanding of technological catch up in newly‐industrializing countries by showing the interrelation between market elements and institutional arrangements and the corresponding changes to meet technological development needs.

The purpose of this paper is to establish a paint deposition pattern model applied to robotic air spray painting in order to achieve the accuracy and uniformity of paint film thickness on free‐form surface.

The paper opts for an exploratory study using the curvature circle method for air spray painting on free‐form surface to construct a spray gun model. First, a paint deposition pattern model of ellipse dual‐β distribution is fitted on the basic of experimental data from robotic air spray painting. Second, a spray gun model is proposed using the curvature circle method for air spray painting on free‐form surface. The theoretical result is coincident with the film thickness in verification experiment spraying a cylinder surface. The biggest error of the sample points between the theoretical and experimental results is less than 4 μm, thereby the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed model is validated.

The paper provides a specific theoretical and methodological support for the realization of process planning and simulation system in surface spray manufacturing. It will make the future developed system meet the actual processing requirement. At the same time, it is more representative.

The paper finds an approach to solve paint deposition pattern model suitable to free‐form surface. The present method can be applied to the complex reality of topological relation for actual workpiece surface to be painted.

Firm growth in industry clusters is a complex issue. On the one hand, industrial clusters can promote firm growth. On the other hand, they can restrict the growth of a firm in some aspects. Their various effects have to be analyzed in detail. The purpose of this paper is to examine these effects and the law of enterprise growth in electronic information industry clusters of China.

This paper makes use of the panel data of the Chinese manufacturing industry with the intention of testing Gibrat's law. It carries out an empirical analysis on the influence of Chinese electronic information industry clusters on firm growth.

The result of the present research indicates that industry clusters definitely have a positive impact on firm growth, profit and longevity. However, in regard to the firms' data of China 2006 to 2007, the electronic information industry clusters have negative effects on scale of business growth of small and medium‐sized companies but not big companies. Moreover, the innovation of companies inside a cluster could not catch up with that of companies outside the cluster.

For the electronic information enterprises, growth rate is positively correlated with the enterprise age. Gibrat's law is tenable, that is, firm growth mainly depends on firm age. In Chinese electronic information industry clusters, R&D has only a weak influence on enterprise growth. In contrast, the economic soundness of the region where the electronic information industry clusters are located is more beneficial to the growth of enterprises in the cluster.