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This paper aims to prepare third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) organic materials with large nonlinear optimization value, high damage threshold and ultrafast response time.

A series of novel symmetric and asymmetric compounds possessing third-order NLO properties were synthesized using 1,3,5-tribromobenzene as the basis. The photophysical and electrochemical properties, as well as the click reactions, were characterized by means of UV–VIS–NIR absorption spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry.

The donor–acceptor chromophores were inserted into compound, making the molecule to have a broader absorption in the near-infrared regions and a narrower optical and electrochemical band gap. It also formed an electron-delocalized organic system, which has larger effects on achieving a third-order NLO response. The third-order NLO phenomenon of benzene ring complexes was experimentally studied at 532 nm using Z-scan technology, and some compounds showed the expected NLO properties.

The click products exhibit more NLO phenomena by performing different click combinations to the side groups, opening new perspectives on using the system in a variety of photoelectric applications.

Polyaniline (PANI) has garnered attention for its potential applications in anticorrosion fields because of its unique properties. Satisfactory outcomes have been achieved when using PANI as a functional filler in organic coatings. More recently, research has extensively explored PANI-based organic coatings with self-healing properties. The purpose of this paper is to provide a summary of the active agents, methods and mechanisms involved in the self-healing of organic coatings.

This study uses specific doped acids and metal corrosion inhibitors as active and self-healing agents to modify PANI using the methods of oxidation polymerization, template synthesis, nanosheet carrier and nanocontainer loading methods. The anticorrosion performance of the coatings is evaluated using EIS, LEIS and salt spray tests.

Specific doped acids and metal corrosion inhibitors are used as active agents to modify PANI and confer self-healing properties to the coatings. The coatings’ active protection mechanism encompasses PANI’s own passivation ability, the adsorption of active agents and the creation of insoluble compounds or complexes.

This paper summarizes the active agents used to modify PANI, the procedures used for modification and the self-healing mechanism of the composite coatings. It also proposes future directions for developing PANI organic coatings with self-healing capabilities. The summaries and proposals presented may facilitate large-scale production of the PANI organic coatings, which exhibit outstanding anticorrosion competence and self-healing properties.

As coaching assumes an increasingly critical role in satisfying employees' demands for growth, the function of coaching has progressively shifted towards direct supervisors. This study seeks to investigate the distinct effects of managerial coaching behaviors on employee outcomes from an emotional perspective. Specifically, we aim to explore whether leaders' encourage-to-explore and guide-to-learn behaviors impact employees' creativity and performance through discrete emotional mechanisms upon appraisal theory of emotion.

We conducted two studies to test our proposition. In study 1, an experiment using coaching scenarios was performed with 128 students majoring in management. In study 2, data were collected from 311 supervisor-subordinate dyads.

The results indicate that encourage-to-explore behaviors are positively related to employee creativity by fostering feelings of inspiration, and guide-to-learn behaviors are positively related to employee performance by alleviating anxiety. These findings suggest that different leaders’ coaching behaviors influence employee outcomes through different emotional processes. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are also discussed.

These findings suggest that different leaders’ coaching behaviors influence employee outcomes through different emotional processes. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are also discussed.

The growing number of firms leveraging social media ads highlight the urgent need for firms to understand social media ads and their effects on consumer perceptions and attitudes. This research examines whether and how different types of social media ads exert influences on ad engagement and how consumers’ psychological characteristics including regulatory orientation and lay rationalism moderate the influence of social media ads on ad engagement.

This research conducts three quasi experiments featuring two types of social media ads – interactive and transactional – to collect empirical evidence. Results are analyzed using ANOVA and Process in SPSS.

This research reveals that interactive ads lead to higher perceived enjoyment and perceived responsiveness, which further lead to higher ad engagement. Promotion focus moderates the effect of social media ads (interactive vs transactional ads) on perceived enjoyment and perceived responsiveness, and lay rationalism moderates the effect on perceived responsiveness, while prevention focus has no such effect.

First, this research establishes the connection between ad types and ad engagement in social media, which offers a new perspective to understand ad engagement. Second, it explores the underlying mechanisms of processing different types of social media ads. Third, it justifies the moderating effects of consumers’ regulatory orientation and lay rationalism on the effects of ad types on ad engagement, providing the first evidence on the moderating role of consumers’ lay rationalism in ad processing. This research helps firm marketers to fine-tune their social media ads according to consumer characteristics.

Chinese multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) unprecedented, aggressive cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBMAs) have led to several studies examining Chinese CBMAs, which importantly has also led to some degree of “theorising”. This study aims to undertake a “non-theoretical” fact-finding exercise before any theorising and empirical “causal” examination for a better understanding of the phenomenon (the rise of Chinese CBMAs).

This study uses a “stylised facts” approach which documents “empirical regularities” concerning Chinese CBMAs and thus guides new research questions.

Several facts are documented. Firstly, both the value and frequency of Chinese CBMAs are catching up to greenfield investments, with CBMA deals being larger in scale but lower in frequency. Secondly, Chinese CBMAs show a global reach away from the regional orientation of their early years. Thirdly, Chinese MNEs are possibly transforming their value chain with industrial upgrading as an aim. Fourthly, Chinese “full” acquisitions of targets have surged, especially in OECD countries, suggestive of Chinese MNEs’ “radical” acquisition approaches.

The gathered facts lend support to the view of the need for such fact-finding exercises to explicate and shed “new” light on the phenomenon (beyond our “current” views/beliefs). An understanding of the underlying trends beyond bare facts can also identify new knowledge, which can in turn provide new directions for research.

The international business (IB) literature emphasizes knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding as part of the knowledge transfer process. However, limited studies discuss the antecedents of the two practices in the same organization in international assignments. This study aims to explore the knowledge transfer practices of expatriates in emerging economy multinational enterprises (EMNEs) conducting international assignments in developing economies and identify the reasons why expatriates share knowledge and/or hide knowledge in interaction with the local environment.

In-depth, semistructured interviews with Chinese expatriates from a Chinese state-owned multinational enterprise (MNE) operating in three African countries were conducted to obtain their experience of knowledge transfer behaviors in international assignments. Thematic analysis was used to analyze interview data.

The results show that knowledge sharing is more common than knowledge hiding in the overseas operations of EMNEs in developing economies. Cooperation requirements, corporate incentives, company support and the host country environment facilitate knowledge sharing; conversely, competitiveness and company policies are related to expatriate knowledge-hiding behaviors in other emerging economies.

This paper provides the enlightenment of Chinese MNEs on knowledge management in overseas operations in developing economies and reflects the company’s system and practice in knowledge management from the level of expatriates, as well as the role of company practices in choosing knowledge sharing or hiding behaviors.

This study aims to explore the mechanism of boundary-spanning search on firm’s innovation performance under environmental dynamics from the perspective of strategic knowledge integration.

A survey was conducted among Chinese firm managers and R&D personnel, resulting in the collection of 315 valid samples. Hierarchical regression analysis was mainly adopted to demonstrate the hypothesized relationships, while the Sobel test and bootstrap method were used to further validate the mediating effects.

The results demonstrate that boundary-spanning search in different dimensions is a critical factor in the improvement of firm innovation performance (FIP). Two types of strategic knowledge integration are the main factors causing FIP and mediate the influence of boundary-spanning search on FIP. Furthermore, environmental dynamics moderate the relationship among boundary-spanning search, strategic knowledge integration and FIP.

Managers need to strengthen the boundary-spanning search for market and technical knowledge, which will promote firm innovative performance. Managers also need to implement strategic knowledge integration, which specifically includes using planned strategic knowledge integration to compensate for knowledge deficiencies, thereby achieving predetermined objectives; and using emergent strategic knowledge integration to update their understanding of internal and external environments, and to reset strategic objectives. In dynamic environments, managers should emphasize strategic knowledge management activities more.

From a strategic management perspective, this study categorizes strategic knowledge integration into planned and emergent forms. By applying the logic of knowledge acquisition, integration and creation, it explores how boundary-spanning search affects FIP through strategic knowledge integration as the intermediary and the boundary conditions of environmental dynamics. This not only provides a deeper understanding of the nature and effects of boundary-spanning research but also enhances the theory of strategic knowledge management.

This paper aims to provide a focused review of international business (IB) literature on research and development (R&D) internationalization, assessing the progress and proposing future research directions.

Total 167 peer-reviewed articles from IB journals (following the ABS list 2021 from 4* to 2) published between 1996 and 2022 are critically reviewed using a science-mapping approach. This paper used Bibliometrix R-package to analyze the retrieved bibliometric data. Additionally, a strategic diagram was developed to comprehend the maturity stage of various R&D internationalization concepts.

Most studies on R&D internationalization are influenced by perspectives from advanced-economy multinational enterprises (AMNEs), while perspectives from emerging-economy multinational enterprises (EMNEs) are underrepresented. Considering the characteristics of emerging economies, firms from these locations might embark on and develop their R&D internationalization strategies differently. Investigating the emerging economy perspectives will enrich the understanding of R&D internationalization strategies for both AMNEs and EMNEs. Additionally, bringing different underutilized theoretical perspectives will help to untangle the anomalies observed in extant literature.

This paper is among the few to scrutinize the IB literature on R&D internationalization by applying a unique combination of bibliometric techniques and a content analysis approach. By complementing existing reviews and providing fresh insights into the phenomenon, it offers a conceptual framework that can be used as a basis for further research on R&D internationalization.

The authors revisit the traditional OLI paradigm with the objective to allocate politics within the set of internationalization advantages by building on the political strategy literature. The authors outline the specific role of political advantage that facilitates and propels the international expansion of state-owned multinational enterprises (SOMNEs) from emerging markets.

A conceptual paper which explains the role of political advantage in the internationalization of SOMNEs. The authors expand the scope of the OLI to capture the impact of firms' home governments' policies and relationships with host countries which are leveraged by SOMNEs in their internationalization.

The authors define political advantage as a new type of advantage which depends on and is sourced from external actors. The authors argue that P-advantage is a multifaceted and unstable part of POLI composition, which is contingent on political shifts and may be leveraged by various firms. The authors also assert that political capabilities have limitations in sustaining political advantage, which may be compensated via enhancing the political activity of firms.

The authors conceptualize the POLI-advantages paradigm for the internationalization of SOMNEs by proposing that in addition to the traditional ownership, location, and internalization advantages, firms can capitalize on their political advantage to enter markets where internationalization might have been difficult without their political connections.

Digitally driven virtual streamers are increasingly utilized in live-streaming commerce, possessing distinct advantages compared to human streamers. However, the applicable scenarios of virtual streamers are still unclear. Focusing on product attribute variances, this paper compares the livestreaming effects of virtual and human streamers to clarify the applicable scenarios for each and assist companies in strategically choosing suitable streamers.

We conducted four experiments utilizing both images and video as stimulus materials, and each experiment employed different products. To test the proposed model, a total of 1,068 valid participants were recruited, encompassing a diverse group of individuals, including undergraduates and employed workers.

The results indicate no significant difference between virtual and human streamers in increasing consumers’ purchase intention for utilitarian products. In contrast, human streamers are more effective in enhancing consumer purchase intention for hedonic products, with a mediating role of mental imagery quality. Consumers’ implicit personality variances also influence their willingness to accept virtual streamers.

This paper is the first to compare the effects of virtual and human streamers in promoting different products to enhance our comprehension of virtual streamers. Given the potential risks associated with human streamers, a comprehensive understanding of the role of virtual streamers is imperative for brands when deploying live-streaming commerce activities.