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This study aims to explore how two affective factors (i.e. brand attachment and consumer affinity) influence host country consumers' responses to an international brand alliance (IBA).

A two (brand attachment: high vs low) × two (consumer affinity: high vs low) factorial experiment was conducted with 336 US university students. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method was used to test the conceptual model.

(1) Pre-attachment to the host brand and consumer affinity for the country-of-origin (COO) of the foreign partner brand positively influence attitudes toward the IBA. (2) Attitudes toward the IBA positively influence post-attachment to the host brand, intention to buy the IBA product and willingness to recommend the IBA product. (3) Pre-attachment to the host brand positively influences post-attachment to the host brand.

This study extends the literature on factors influencing attitudes toward IBAs by finding the significant influences of pre-attachment to the host brand and consumer affinity for the COO of the foreign partner brand on host country consumers' responses to IBAs.

This study aims to investigate factors impacting host country consumers’ attitudes toward acquirers’ corporate brands and target brands after cross-border acquisitions (CBAs).

Surveys were conducted with US consumers using two fictitious CBA scenarios in the automobile industry.

Consumer ethnocentric tendencies (CETs) are negatively related to attitudes toward a CBA event; attitudes toward a CBA event are positively related to post-CBA attitudes toward the acquirer's corporate brand; brand-image fit is positively related to attitudes toward a CBA event, and post-CBA attitudes toward the acquirer's corporate brand and the target brand; post-CBA attitudes toward the acquirer's corporate brand and the target brand are positively related.

This study is limited in the sample, analysis approaches, context and factors examined. Future research could use more representative samples and both quantitative and qualitative methodologies; conduct more tests; examine real CBAs in different industries and countries; and investigate effects of other factors affecting attitudes toward the CBA event and post-CBA brand attitudes.

Managers should consider CETs and brand-image fit and strategically influence attitudes toward a CBA event and post-CBA brand attitudes.

It investigates the mediating effect of attitudes toward a CBA event on the relationship between CETs and post-CBA attitudes toward the acquirer's corporate brand and the effects of brand-image fit on attitudes toward a CBA event and post-CBA brand attitudes.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a safe control strategy for aloft hot-line assembly of connection fittings in 110kV intelligent substations, which is significant to research on hot-line working robots.

This paper addresses challenges of the task and establish the contact models of connection fittings. By using this control strategy, neither high precision vision positioning nor preset global reference coordinate system is required. Visual computing only needs to provide an approximately position for the manipulator end-effector, after which the connection fittings assembly task could be completed with the posture of the manipulator adjusted following the guidance by force-position control. The authors also analyze the influence of the intervention of manipulators on the very non-uniform electric field during the operation.

This strategy will be particularly useful for the hot-line assembly of connection fittings in 110kV intelligent substations as well as some assembly tasks where uncertain target position and complex contact surface such as cylindrical hole is involved.

This assembly strategy is tested in energized simulated experimental system. The experiment results show that the robot can replace the manual operation to complete the assembly task safely and efficiently.

This assembly strategy is able to achieve the assembly task of connection fittings. Unlike other peg-in-hole assembly strategy, it does not require high stability of manipulator or plane contact surface around the hole.