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1 – 10 of over 1000K.C. LAM, TIE SONG HU, THOMAS NG, R.K.K. YUEN, S.M. LO and CONRAD T.C. WONG
Optimizing both qualitative and quantitative factors is a key challenge in solving construction finance decisions. The semi‐structured nature of construction finance optimization…
Abstract
Optimizing both qualitative and quantitative factors is a key challenge in solving construction finance decisions. The semi‐structured nature of construction finance optimization problems precludes conventional optimization techniques. With a desire to improve the performance of the canonical genetic algorithm (CGA) which is characterized by static crossover and mutation probability, and to provide contractors with a profit‐risk trade‐off curve and cash flow prediction, an adaptive genetic algorithm (AGA) model is developed. Ten projects being undertaken by a major construction firm in Hong Kong were used as case studies to evaluate the performance of the genetic algorithm (GA). The results of case study reveal that the AGA outperformed the CGA both in terms of its quality of solutions and the computational time required for a certain level of accuracy. The results also indicate that there is a potential for using the GA for modelling financial decisions should both quantitative and qualitative factors be optimized simultaneously.
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Man has been seeking an ideal existence for a very long time. In this existence, justice, love, and peace are no longer words, but actual experiences. How ever, with the American…
Abstract
Man has been seeking an ideal existence for a very long time. In this existence, justice, love, and peace are no longer words, but actual experiences. How ever, with the American preemptive invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq and the subsequent prisoner abuse, such an existence seems to be farther and farther away from reality. The purpose of this work is to stop this dangerous trend by promoting justice, love, and peace through a change of the paradigm that is inconsistent with justice, love, and peace. The strong paradigm that created the strong nation like the U.S. and the strong man like George W. Bush have been the culprit, rather than the contributor, of the above three universal ideals. Thus, rather than justice, love, and peace, the strong paradigm resulted in in justice, hatred, and violence. In order to remove these three and related evils, what the world needs in the beginning of the third millenium is the weak paradigm. Through the acceptance of the latter paradigm, the golden mean or middle paradigm can be formulated, which is a synergy of the weak and the strong paradigm. In order to understand properly the meaning of these paradigms, however, some digression appears necessary.
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Chanho Song, Tuo Wang, Haakon T. Brown and Michael Y. Hu
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how referral reward programs (RRPs) utilizing scarcity messages influence bank credit holders’ referrals to and adoptions by close or…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how referral reward programs (RRPs) utilizing scarcity messages influence bank credit holders’ referrals to and adoptions by close or distant friends.
Design/methodology/approach
A 2×2 experiment is implemented with 760 consumers solicited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk worker panel. Logit transformation and general linear models are used to test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
Results showed that offering RRPs with limited available referrals (quantity scarcity) increases the overall number of referrals to and adoptions by close and distant friends. The percent of strong ties also increases with RRPs. As quantity scarcity is relaxed, the percentages of referrals to and adoptions by close friends decrease.
Originality/value
The inclusion of tie strength with scarcity framing greatly enhances our understanding of the effectiveness of RRPs for bank credit cards. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research attempt on this topic.
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Gives an in depth view of the strategies pursued by the world’s leading chief executive officers in an attempt to provide guidance to new chief executives of today. Considers the…
Abstract
Gives an in depth view of the strategies pursued by the world’s leading chief executive officers in an attempt to provide guidance to new chief executives of today. Considers the marketing strategies employed, together with the organizational structures used and looks at the universal concepts that can be applied to any product. Uses anecdotal evidence to formulate a number of theories which can be used to compare your company with the best in the world. Presents initial survival strategies and then looks at ways companies can broaden their boundaries through manipulation and choice. Covers a huge variety of case studies and examples together with a substantial question and answer section.
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Chanho Song, Tuo Wang, Hyunjung Lee and Michael Y. Hu
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the effects of referral rewards in referral reward programs (RRPs) are moderated through perceived social risk of a recommender.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the effects of referral rewards in referral reward programs (RRPs) are moderated through perceived social risk of a recommender.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 717 consumers are accessed through Amazon's Mechanical Turk worker panel. The authors use t-test and analysis of variance to test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
The findings show that consumers with high perceived social risk balance financial rewards with social risks, while low social risk consumers largely ignore these social risk elements surrounding a referral decision.
Originality/value
The inclusion of perceived social risk provides the opportunity to fully understand how a consumer goes about balancing social risk and referral rewards in making referral decisions. The concept of social risk has not been previously applied to this context.
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Zhibin Hu, Guangdong Wu, Xianbo Zhao, Jian Zuo and Shicong Wen
This study aims to explore the influence of the strength of ties (strong ties and weak ties) on contractual flexibility (term flexibility and process flexibility) and relationship…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the influence of the strength of ties (strong ties and weak ties) on contractual flexibility (term flexibility and process flexibility) and relationship quality among stakeholders in a megaproject network.
Design/methodology/approach
This study, via a questionnaire survey, collected 380 valid responses from megaproject professionals (including project managers, department managers and project engineers). The data were analyzed using least squares structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results show that both strong ties and weak ties have positive effects on relationship quality. The introduction of contractual flexibility can help improve relationship quality by combining the positive effects of the strength of ties. Interestingly, the indirect influence of strong ties on relationship quality is mainly due to term flexibility. However, the influence of process flexibility is not significant, while weak ties have an indirect influence through term flexibility and process flexibility.
Research limitations/implications
This study, while helpful to megaproject management both in theory and practice, is nevertheless subject to several limitations. First, this study only considers the impact of the strength of ties on contractual flexibility and relationship quality; other factors, such as environmental uncertainty, are not explored. Second, the sample data are limited to just a few regions of China. Future research should cover other influencing factors, in order to make the model more substantial; data should also be collected from different cultural and industrial sources, thereby extending and further verifying the results.
Originality/value
This study makes three contributions to extant megaproject literature. First, this study provides a deep and nuanced understanding of the strength of ties. With the distinction between strong ties and weak ties clearly explained, this research furnishes a subtler understanding of relationship governance than has previously been achieved. Second, by precisely identifying the mechanism of how contract flexibility improves contract control and coordination functions, this research offers a complementary view of how contractual flexibility positively contributes to cooperation and relationship quality. Third, this study identifies which dimension of the strength of ties is more influential. This brings a new explanation for the previous controversy and offers some insight into the determinants of how to improve relationship quality in Chinese megaprojects.
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Zulqurnain Ali, Bi Gongbing and Aqsa Mehreen
The purpose of this paper is to examine how a supply chain (SC) network helps small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to obtain liquidity and working capital for enhancing their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how a supply chain (SC) network helps small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to obtain liquidity and working capital for enhancing their performance while developing the relationships among SC members through information sharing. Moreover, this study also investigates whether a strong tie or bridge tie improves the availability of SMEs’ credit and performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a survey approach, data were collected from textile SMEs, located in Pakistan. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression model were run to validate the proposed model and the relationships.
Findings
Findings highlighted that strong tie and bridge tie of SMEs positively and significantly enhance the credit quality and SMEs’ performance. Furthermore, information sharing significantly moderates the relationship between SC network ties and SMEs’ credit quality. Credit quality significantly explains the indirect (mediation) association between the strong tie and the firm performance.
Practical implications
This study will help the SMEs’ entrepreneurs and SC executives to strengthen the liquidity position of SME and improve SMEs’ performance by developing the bridge ties. SMEs should share more information in their SC network while performing business transactions so that financers or lenders can easily access their operational capabilities and individual characteristics to offer them quality credit such as supply chain finance (SCF).
Originality/value
SMEs always face the issue of risk-free financing which adversely affects the firm performance. This study covered the hidden gap in SCM and SMEs’ financing literature by identifying the crucial role of SCF as quality credit in the development of SMEs. Moreover, SMEs can get benefits (e.g. quality credit=SCF) for better embedding in an SC network through information sharing.
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Chanho Song, Tuo Wang and Michael Y. Hu
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how referral reward programs (RRPs) with scarcity messages influence consumer’ recommendation behavioral intentions about a bank credit…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how referral reward programs (RRPs) with scarcity messages influence consumer’ recommendation behavioral intentions about a bank credit card.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 1,599 consumers are accessed through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk worker panel. The authors use general linear models, analysis of variance and analysis of covariance to test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
The results showed that offering RRPs with scarcity messages increases a consumer’s behavioral intentions to recommend. The limited-quantity message in RRPs has the highest positive impact on consumers’ behavioral intentions.
Originality/value
No prior studies have addressed the relationship between referral rewards and scarcity messages in the bank credit card context. The study contributes to the understanding of the effectiveness of RRPs with scarcity message in improving consumer’s referral.
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Mengyi Zhu, Yuan Sun, Anand Jeyaraj and Jie Hao
This study aims to explore whether and how task characteristics affect employee agility in the context of enterprise social media (ESM).
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore whether and how task characteristics affect employee agility in the context of enterprise social media (ESM).
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting the social network ties perspective, this study examines how task characteristics (i.e. task complexity, task interdependence and task non-routineness) affect employee agility by promoting their social network ties (i.e. instrumental ties and expressive ties) and how ESM visibility moderates their relationships. Data gathered from 341 ESM users in workplaces were analyzed using Smart-PLS 3.2.
Findings
First, task complexity, task interdependence and task non-routineness have positive effects on instrumental and expressive ties, which in turn influences agility; Second, instrumental ties have a stronger effect on employee agility relative to expressive ties; Finally, ESM visibility positively moderates the effects of task complexity and task non-routineness on social network ties.
Practical implications
The findings provide guidance for organizational managers on how to use task characteristics and ESM to improve employee agility, as well as insights for social media designers to optimize ESM functions to improve agility.
Originality/value
This study provides empirical evidence to explain the roles of task characteristics and social network ties in influencing employee agility, thus clarifying the inconsistent findings in extant research. The moderating effects of ESM visibility on the relationships between task characteristics and social network ties are also examined, thus providing further insights on the positive role of ESM in organizations.
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Yajie Hu and Shasha Zhou
Online reviews in online health communities (OHCs) have been a vital information source for patients. The extant literature on the bias effects of helpful reviews mainly…
Abstract
Purpose
Online reviews in online health communities (OHCs) have been a vital information source for patients. The extant literature on the bias effects of helpful reviews mainly concentrates on traditional e-commerce, whereas research on OHCs is still rare. Thus, based on the heuristic-systematic model (HSM), this research explores how two unique reviewer characteristics in OHCs, which may induce attribution bias and confirmation bias, affect review helpfulness and how review length moderates these relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
This research analyzed 130,279 reviews collected from haodf.com (one of the representative OHCs in China) by adopting the negative binomial regression to test our research model.
Findings
The results indicate that reviewer cured status positively influences review helpfulness, whereas reviewer recommendation source negatively affects review helpfulness. Moreover, the effects of the two reviewer cues on review helpfulness will be weaker for longer reviews.
Originality/value
First, as one of the initial attempts, the current study investigates the effects of confirmation bias and attribution bias of online reviews in OHCs by exploring the effects of two unique reviewer characteristics on review helpfulness. Second, the weakening moderating effects of review length on the two bias effects provide empirical support for the theoretical arguments of the HSM in OHCs.
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