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Article
Publication date: 17 December 2019

Guiyao Tang, Shuang Ren, Doren Chadee and Shuo Yuan

The increasing use of social media after work hours for work purposes, termed social media connectivity (SMC), is an emerging phenomenon in supply chain management. Although SMC…

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Abstract

Purpose

The increasing use of social media after work hours for work purposes, termed social media connectivity (SMC), is an emerging phenomenon in supply chain management. Although SMC can have debilitating effects on supply chain professionals and their organizations, research on its effects on work-related attitudes, especially turnover intentions, remains largely unexplored. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of SMC on voluntary turnover of supply chain professionals and the resulting implications for them and their organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

The study draws from the conservation of resources theory and the concept of information overload to explain how SMC leads to emotional exhaustion and impacts turnover intentions of supply chain professionals, contingent on work–life balance. The model is tested using survey data (n=325) collected at multiple times from a large Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturer and distributor with spatially dispersed workforce and distribution facilities.

Findings

The results confirm that emotional exhaustion mediates the association between SMC and turnover intentions and that SMC exacerbates the intentions of supply chain professionals to quit their jobs. However, work–life balance is found to dampen the exhausting effects of SMC on emotional exhaustion thereby reducing its debilitating effects on turnover intentions of supply chain professionals.

Originality/value

The focus on SMC highlights the need for greater understanding of the dark side of social media on supply chain professionals and their organizations and how SMC can be better managed in an age of social media ubiquity.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 40 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 9 March 2020

169

Abstract

Details

International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, vol. 32 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-6222

Article
Publication date: 19 June 2023

Yaping Zhao, Hao Luo, Qingyue Chen and Xiaoyun Xu

The increasing popularity of ERP solutions has provided dietary supplement manufacturing companies with modules to manage pricing and inventory. However, the decisions made by…

Abstract

Purpose

The increasing popularity of ERP solutions has provided dietary supplement manufacturing companies with modules to manage pricing and inventory. However, the decisions made by these modules are often independent and rely on deterministic forecasts. This paper studies a multi-product dietary supplement manufacturing system under stochastic demands. The purpose is to maximize the long-run expected profit by jointly considering pricing and inventory strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors investigate both the general cases and three special cases including stable demand, negligible backlog and instantaneous replenishment. A two-stage algorithm named PAS is proposed. In the strategy construction stage, the constructed objective bounds are combined to provide estimates which then help to derive the optimal product prices. In the system operation stage, replenishment decisions are further made based on the prices generated from the previous stage.

Findings

It is proved that base-stock policy is optimal for the studied system, and the optimal based-stock level is provided. The global optimal strategies are obtained for three important special cases. For the general case, theoretical objective bounds are established. These bounds provide quick and reliable performance estimates for practical applications.

Originality/value

Very few studies have jointly considered pricing and inventory strategies with uncertainty demands in the dietary supplement industry. The PAS algorithm developed integrates these decisions and consistently generates high-quality solutions even under highly varying demands. Such algorithm could be a valuable add-on to the pricing and inventory management modules in ERP systems.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 123 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 October 2020

Yongliang Yuan, Shuo Wang, Liye Lv and Xueguan Song

Highly non-linear optimization problems exist in many practical engineering applications. To deal with these problems, this study aims to propose an improved optimization…

Abstract

Purpose

Highly non-linear optimization problems exist in many practical engineering applications. To deal with these problems, this study aims to propose an improved optimization algorithm, named, adaptive resistance and stamina strategy-based dragonfly algorithm (ARSSDA).

Design/methodology/approach

To speed up the convergence, ARSSDA applies an adaptive resistance and stamina strategy (ARSS) to conventional dragonfly algorithm so that the search step can be adjusted appropriately in each iteration. In ARSS, it includes the air resistance and physical stamina of dragonfly during a flight. These parameters can be updated in real time as the flight status of the dragonflies.

Findings

The performance of ARSSDA is verified by 30 benchmark functions of Congress on Evolutionary Computation 2014’s special session and 3 well-known constrained engineering problems. Results reveal that ARSSDA is a competitive algorithm for solving the optimization problems. Further, ARSSDA is used to search the optimal parameters for a bucket wheel reclaimer (BWR). The aim of the numerical experiment is to achieve the global optimal structure of the BWR by minimizing the energy consumption. Results indicate that ARSSDA generates an optimal structure of BWR and decreases the energy consumption by 22.428% compared with the initial design.

Originality/value

A novel search strategy is proposed to enhance the global exploratory capability and convergence speed. This paper provides an effective optimization algorithm for solving constrained optimization problems.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 38 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 July 2020

Shurui Zhang, Shuo Wang, Lingran Yuan, Xiaoguang Liu and Binlei Gong

This article investigates the mechanism of the direct and indirect effects of epidemics on agricultural production and projects the impact of COVID-19 on agricultural output in…

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Abstract

Purpose

This article investigates the mechanism of the direct and indirect effects of epidemics on agricultural production and projects the impact of COVID-19 on agricultural output in China.

Design/methodology/approach

This article first adopts a dynamic panel model and spatial Durbin model to estimate the direct and indirect effects, followed by a growth accounting method to identify the channels by which epidemics affect agriculture; finally, it projects the overall impact of COVID-19 on agriculture.

Findings

The incidence rate of epidemics in a province has a negative impact on that province's own agricultural productivity, but the increase in the input factors (land, fertilizer and machinery) can make up for the loss and thus lead to insignificant direct effects. However, this “input-offset-productivity” mechanism fails to radiate to the surrounding provinces and therefore leads to significant indirect/spillover effects. It is projected that COVID-19 will lower China's agricultural growth rate by 0.4%–2.0% in 2020 under different scenarios.

Research limitations/implications

It is crucial to establish a timely disclosure and sharing system of epidemic information across provinces, improve the support and resilience of agricultural production in the short run and accelerate the process of agricultural modernization in the long run.

Originality/value

Considering the infectivity of epidemics, this article evaluates the mechanism of the direct and indirect effects by introducing a spatial dynamic model into the growth accounting framework. Moreover, besides the impact on input portfolio and productivity, this article also investigates whether epidemics reshape agricultural production processes due to panic effects and control measures.

Details

China Agricultural Economic Review, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-137X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 June 2019

Shuo-Fang Liu, Yuan-Chin Hsu and Hung-Cheng Tsai

Belief in Mazu has a crucial cultural status in Taiwan and the coastal area of Fujian, China. The design and manufacture of apparel and accessories to be placed on statues of the…

Abstract

Purpose

Belief in Mazu has a crucial cultural status in Taiwan and the coastal area of Fujian, China. The design and manufacture of apparel and accessories to be placed on statues of the deity are also considered a sacred and critical part of the religion’s cultural and artistic inheritance. The crown hat of Mazu is one of the most essential elements of the deity’s apparel. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This study explored the styles of Mazu crown hats using Kansei engineering (KE). People generally use adjectives words to provide aesthetic evaluations. Fuzzy theory is suitable for processing linguistic problems that include vagueness, thereby providing a reasonable method of quantifying such aesthetic evaluations. Therefore, this study first established a fuzzy positioning model (FPM) of word evaluations for analysis. Factor analysis was used to obtain representative image adjectives that represented Mazu’s image. Fuzzy analysis methods were then employed to rank the various image adjectives through evaluation words and to determine the differences between adjectives. Finally, on the basis of image analysis results and expert suggestions, the crown hat was redesigned and its suitability verified.

Findings

Four results were obtained. First, four image adjectives appropriate for representing Mazu’s image were identified, of which “noble and kind” is the most suitable. Second, fuzzy analysis was found to successfully rank style images. Third, the crown hat style and design characteristics suitable for Mazu were acquired. Fourth, the verification demonstrated that the redesign effectively enhanced the perceived image of the crown hat design.

Originality/value

This study employed KE to improve the design of a Mazu crown hat. The proposed FPM can aid the development of cultural and creative design.

Details

International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, vol. 31 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-6222

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1996

Peter Zhou

This paper is a study of the current trends and conditions of electronic resources for Chinese studies, based on a recent survey on the Internet of 29 Chinese libraries in North…

Abstract

This paper is a study of the current trends and conditions of electronic resources for Chinese studies, based on a recent survey on the Internet of 29 Chinese libraries in North America and eight Chinese libraries in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The survey discussed current electronic resources for Chinese studies, with a union list of major Chinese language databases currently used in libraries in Asia and the US. Current views on the use and development of electronic resources for Chinese studies were summarised.

Details

The Electronic Library, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

Article
Publication date: 18 September 2017

Chieh-Shuo Chen, Jia-Chi Cheng, Fang-Chi Lin and Chihwei Peng

The house money effect is proposed to describe that people appear to consider large or unexpected wealth gains to be distinct from the rest of their wealth, and are thus more…

1913

Abstract

Purpose

The house money effect is proposed to describe that people appear to consider large or unexpected wealth gains to be distinct from the rest of their wealth, and are thus more willing to gamble with such gains than they ordinarily would be. On the other hand, the availability heuristic describes that people tend to have a cognitive and systematic bias due to their reliance on easily available or associational information. The purpose of this paper is to employ these behavioral perspectives in an empirical model regarding the January anomaly to explore investor behavior in Taiwanese stock market with bonus culture and well-known electronics industry.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses the conventional and standard dummy variable regression model, as employed in prior studies, and further includes some control variables for firm, industry and macro-economic level factors. Moreover, 19 industrial indices for Taiwanese stock market over the period January 1990 to December 2014 are included in this study to examine the hypotheses, except for the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the global financial crisis period of 2007-2009 to avoid the potential effect. On the other hand, the authors also use the entire sample period of 1990-2014 for understanding whether the magnitude of January effect is different.

Findings

The empirical results indicate that Chinese bonus payments in January induce a strong January effect in the Taiwanese stock market, especially when most listed firms have positive earnings growth in the preceding year, suggesting a house money effect. Moreover, this study further provides some preliminary evidence that the higher January returns due to bonus culture are apparent only in the electronics industry when both Chinese New Year and bonus payments are in January, implying the role of availability heuristic based on the electronics stocks in investor behavior before the impending stock exchange holidays. Some robust tests show qualitative support.

Research limitations/implications

The major contribution of this study is to extend the existing research by incorporating cultural and industrial factors with behavioral finance, thus enriching the literature on the causes of seasonality for Asian stock markets.

Practical implications

This study also has behavioral implications of investments for investors in the Taiwanese stock market, especially for foreign institutional investors which pay close attention to this market.

Originality/value

This study first applies and examines the culture bonus hypothesis with regard to how employees who receive culture bonuses in January can change their attitudes toward risk and induce the January effect from the concept of mental accounting. Moreover, this study further proposes and examines the extended culture bonus hypothesis related to how the January effect due to culture bonus is different for the electronics and non-electronics industries when taking into account the stock market holidays from the concept of availability heuristic.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 55 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 October 2019

Jing Shao, Shuo Huang, Isaac Lemus-Aguilar and Enes Ünal

Although China can be considered an early adopter of the circular economy, there are few studies of remanufacturing business models (BMs) in the context of the Chinese automobile…

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Abstract

Purpose

Although China can be considered an early adopter of the circular economy, there are few studies of remanufacturing business models (BMs) in the context of the Chinese automobile industry. The purpose of this paper is to investigate viable BMs, summarizes current obstacles and anticipates future development opportunities and directions.

Design/methodology/approach

The cross-case analysis considers the roles of value networks and of customer value proposition and interface in circular business models (CBMs) by examining the strategies and tactical measures of two leading remanufacturers. The data are collected from semi-structured interviews, documents, etc.

Findings

The analysis identifies the following components of viable BMs of remanufacturers: reclaiming raw material, managing used components, producing new products and marketing. Several current obstacles are summarized from four perspectives: policy barriers and insufficient government support; consumer awareness; related product quality; and technology. The study also identifies future directions and opportunities for the automobile parts remanufacturing industry.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the CBM literature by mapping the barriers and opportunities in remanufacturing. The results have shed some light into the field of sustainability in manufacturing firms by empirically testing the theoretical model. The results will help managers to design viable CBMs in different contexts.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 31 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 February 2015

Shuo Xiao, Yang Zhao, Yuan Cao, Haifeng Jiang and Wenliang Zhu

– This paper aims to deduce a set of theory computational formula, and optimize and improve the heat conductivity of vias in printed circuit boards of electrical power apparatus.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to deduce a set of theory computational formula, and optimize and improve the heat conductivity of vias in printed circuit boards of electrical power apparatus.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors adopted numerical simulation and experimental measurement to verify the reliability of this formula.

Findings

Research result showed that 0.45 mm was the optimal bore diameter of vias; the conductivity had no obvious improvement when filling material was FR4 or Rogers, but if it was filled with texture of high thermal conductivity like soldering tine, the conductivity would improve a lot; the plating thickness of vias had a greater influence on thermal conductivity.

Originality/value

Through the theory computational formula, this paper studied the influence of aperture of vias, filled materials and thickness of copper plated on vias on thermal conductivity.

Details

Circuit World, vol. 41 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0305-6120

Keywords

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