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The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of cross-ownership on corporate digital innovation and their specific mechanisms. Cross-ownership, who hold equity in two or more companies simultaneously, have two different types of governance effects in the capital market: governance synergistic effects and competitive collusion effects.

This paper uses a panel model, selecting A-share company data from 2011 to 2021 in China. In total, 23,853 valid data were obtained, which came from the CSMAR database and Wind database. For some missing data, they were manually supplemented by consulting the company's annual report and Sina Finance. Data processing was conducted using EXCEL and Stata16.0 software.

The results show that cross-ownership promote corporate digital innovation by leveraging governance synergies. Further grouping tests show that the synergistic effects of cross-ownership are significant in non-state-owned, high-tech, weakly competitive and higher analyst attention enterprises. Mechanism testing shows that cross-ownership can empower corporate digital innovation in three ways: reducing information asymmetry, alleviating financing constraints and improving corporate governance.

The conclusion of this paper provides new empirical evidence for a comprehensive understanding of the role of cross-ownership in corporate development, enriches the economic consequences research of chain institutional investors in China and broadens the research perspective of corporate digital innovation. It also provides important references for the digital transformation of enterprises and the healthy development of the capital market.

The purpose of this paper is to improve the mechanical and tribological properties of Si₃N₄ ceramics and to make the application of Si₃N₄ ceramics as tribological materials more extensive.

Si₃N₄-based composite ceramics (SN-2L) containing nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs) were prepared by hot press sintering process through adding 2 Wt.% nanolignin as precursor to the Si₃N₄ matrix, and the dry friction and wear behaviors of Si₃N₄-based composite against TC4 disc were performed at the different loads by using pin-on-disc tester.

The friction coefficients and wear rates of SN-2L composite against TC4 were significantly lower than those of the single-phase Si₃N₄ against TC4 at the load range from 15 to 45 N. At higher load of 45 N, SN-2L/TC4 pair presented the lowest friction coefficient of 0.25, and the wear rates of the pins and discs were as low as 1.76 × 10⁻⁶ and 2.59 × 10⁻⁴mm³/N·m. The low friction and wear behavior could be attributed to the detachment of N-GQDs from the ceramic matrix to the worn surface at the load of 30 N or higher, and then an effective lubricating film containing N-GQDs, SiO₂, TiO₂ and Al₂SiO₅ formed in the worn surface. While, at the same test condition, the friction coefficient of the single-phase Si₃N₄ against TC4 was at a range from 0.45 to 0.58. The spalling and cracking morphology formed on the worn surface of single-phase Si3N4, and the wear mechanism was mainly dominated by adhesive and abrasive wear.

Overall, a high-performance green ceramic composite was prepared, and the composite had a good potential for application in engineering tribology fields (such as aerospace bearings).

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-05-2024-0161/

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 study aims to improve the stability and obstacle surmounting ability of the traditional wall-climbing robot on the surface of the ship, a wheel-track composite magnetic adsorption wall-climbing robot is proposed in this paper.

The robot adopts a front and rear obstacle-crossing mechanism to achieve a smooth crossover. The robot is composed of two passive obstacle-crossing mechanisms and a frame, which is composed of two obstacle-crossing magnetic wheels and a set of tracks. The obstacle-crossing is realized by the telescopic expansion of the obstacle-crossing mechanism. Three static failure models are established to determine the minimum adsorption force for the robot to achieve stable motion. The Halbach array is used to construct the track magnetic circuit, and the influence of gap, contact area and magnet thickness on the adsorption force is analyzed by parameter simulation.

The prototype was designed and manufactured by the authors for static failure and obstacle crossing tests. The prototype test results show that the robot can cross the obstacle of 10 mm height under the condition of 20 kg load.

A new structure of wall-climbing robot is proposed and verified. According to the test results, the wall-climbing robot can stably climb over the obstacle of 10 mm height under the condition of 20 kg load, which provides a new idea for future robot design.

To fill the gap, this article examines the inter-governmental collaboration mechanisms behind the platform curtain.

Behind the curtain is to look at what makes things happen backstage. For collaborative e-governance platforms, scholars have assumed that technological factors and user characteristics are the determinants for platform success. Little attention has been paid to the issue of how multiple governments, acting as platform co-builders and co-operators, interact and collaborate backstage to provide integrated e-services.

Based on data from survey questionnaires sent to government employees, the results show that governments’ information processing capacities cannot directly affect collaboration; however, these capacities can impact collaboration via the mediating variable of horizontal relations. In addition, we found that higher-ranking authorities are better suited to intervene once horizontal relations have been established and that more adaptable organizations are better at forming horizontal relations with peers. For governments participating in collaborative e-governance platforms, our findings are practically applicable.

The research question reads as: How do various government departments acting as platform co-builders and co-operators judge their collaboration performance, and what collaboration mechanisms contribute to it? We study this research question by constructing a conceptual model based on the Organizational Information Processing Theory (OIPT) and the Collaborative Governance Theory (CGT), both suggesting information processing capacities, organizational flexibility, horizontal relations and vertical intervention as indispensable factors influencing collaboration performance in ICT-supported groupwork. We propose and test four hypotheses on the relationships among these four factors to reveal the inter-governmental collaboration mechanisms for cross-government platformisation projects.

The main goal of this paper is to study the specific characteristics of the performance of companies in the metallurgical sector, in the northern region of Portugal.

To achieve this aim, the authors have used data from 325 companies manufacturing metal products, except machinery and equipment (CAE Rev.3 25) and 27 companies that manufacture machinery and equipment (CAE Rev. 3 28). The models were estimated by using the panel data methodology for the period between 2011 and 2019. Specifically, the estimation method of the generalized method of moments system (GMM system) proposed by Arellano and Bover (1995) and Blundell and Bond (1998) was used.

The results show that the main decisions on the performance of metallurgical companies in Northern Portugal depend on the dimensions of sales in the domestic market (SDM), sales in the community market (SCM), and sales in the foreign market (SFM) and also highlight that the signal and significance of the specific variables depends on how the different stakeholders understand performance.

As far as the authors know, this is the first study to comparatively analyze the two metallurgical databases in Portugal. Despite the huge difference in the size of the sample, this study’s results show that in an era of paradigm shift about what business objectives should be, stakeholders are still not environmentally aware and the social dimension is only considered by shareholders, but not yet by the manager and the general community.

Digital product and service innovations (DPSI) has attracted widespread attention from both management scholars and practitioners. Previous studies have documented that information technology (IT) capability and digital orientation positively influence DPSI performance. However, the question of whether and how digitalization capability can facilitate DPSI performance remains unresolved. This paper fills these gaps by investigating the mediating role of improvisation capability and the moderating role of technological turbulence.

This study used two-wave data from 240 matched digital transformation department leaders and senior managers from Chinese firms and examined the hypotheses deploying hierarchical regression and bootstrapping.

Our analyses reveal positive, significant links between digitalization capability and improvisation capability and between improvisation capability and DPSI performance. The findings further show that the effect of digitalization capability on DPSI performance is partially mediated by improvisation capability and that technological turbulence strengthens the indirect relationship between digitalization capability and DPSI performance through improvisation capability.

Integrating resource-based view, this research provides evidence that the extent to which improvisation capability mediates the relationship between digitalization capability and DPSI performance depends on technological turbulence. It provides a new direction for digitalization capability and DPSI performance.

This work aims to integrate the concepts generated by a systematic literature review on patient flows in emergency departments (ED) to serve as a basis for developing a generic process model for ED.

A systematic literature review was conducted using PRISMA guidelines, considering Lean Healthcare interventions describing ED patients’ flows. The initial search found 141 articles and 18 were included in the systematic analysis. The literature analysis served as the basis for developing a generic process model for ED.

ED processes have been represented using different notations, such as value stream mapping and workflows. The main alternatives for starting events are arrival by ambulance or walk-in. The Manchester Triage Scale (MTS) was the most common protocol referred to in the literature. The most common end events are admission to a hospital, transfer to other facilities or admission to an ambulatory care system. The literature analysis allowed the development of a generic process model for emergency departments. Nevertheless, considering that several factors influence the process of an emergency department, such as pathologies, infrastructure, available teams and local regulations, modelling alternatives and challenges in each step of the process should be analysed according to the local context.

A generic business process model was developed using BPMN that can be used by practitioners and researchers to reduce the effort in the initial stages of design or improvement projects. Moreover, it’s a first step toward the development of generalizable and replicable solutions for emergency departments.

This paper examines the effect of board reforms on managerial risk-taking incentive provision in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) whose managers are undue risk-averse.

We use the staggered implementation of board reforms in Chinese central government-controlled state-owned enterprises (CSOEs) as an exogenous shock to board governance. We collect data on board reforms for a set of pilot CSOEs during the period 2005 to 2020 from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) website by hand. We use a generalized difference-in-difference (DID) design to test the effect of staggered board reform adoption on managerial risk-taking incentive provision.

We find a positive relationship between board reforms and risk-taking inventive provision, i.e. pay-performance sensitivity, promotion-performance sensitivity and performance target difficulty. The documented relationship is stronger when the value of risk-taking is higher. We also find that board reforms lead to greater risky but value-enhancing investments and that managerial risk-taking incentive provision acts as an important channel through which board reforms improve value-enhancing risk-taking.

Our findings suggest that board reforms that improve board governance are effective in addressing risk-related agency conflicts in emerging markets. The findings also highlight the importance of managerial risk-taking incentive provision in inducing risky but value-enhancing investments.

Although the literature recognizes that coopetition plays a significant role in the success of international construction joint ventures (ICJVs), the impacts of coopetition on the performance outcomes of ICJVs remain largely unknown. This study extends this line of research by theorizing coopetition from three dimensions, i.e. coopetition intensity, coopetition balance and coopetition structure, and examining the relationships between coopetition and ICJV performance outcomes from both the contingency and configuration perspectives.

The hypotheses were tested using survey data from a sample of 188 ICJVs. Structural equation modelling was employed for the contingency approach to estimate the relationships between the three dimensions of coopetition and performance. For the configuration approach, cluster analysis was utilized to identify coopetition patterns. Subsequently, an analysis of variance was employed to analyse the relationships between these coopetition patterns and performance.

The contingency results indicate that while coopetition intensity is positively related to all types of performance, coopetition balance is only positively related to project performance and partner performance. Moreover, coopetition structure is only related to partner performance and socioenvironmental performance. The configuration approach identifies six patterns of coopetition, manifesting different levels of project, partner and socioenvironmental performance.

These findings, therefore, contribute to the ICJV literature by extending the understanding of how coopetition dimensions individually and jointly influence ICJV performance.