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This paper aims to propose a robust and efficient method for vanishing point detection in unstructured road scenes.

The proposed method includes two main stages: drivable region estimation and vanishing point detection. In drivable region estimation stage, the road image is segmented into a set of patches; then the drivable region is estimated by the patch-wise manifold ranking. In vanishing point detection stage, the LSD method is used to extract the straight lines; then a series of principles are proposed to remove the noise lines. Finally, the vanishing point is detected by a novel voting strategy.

The proposed method is validated on various unstructured road images collected from the real world. It is more robust and more efficient than the state-of-the-art method and the other three recent methods. Experimental results demonstrate that the detected vanishing point is practical for vision-sensor-based navigation in complex unstructured road scenes.

This paper proposes a patch-wise manifold ranking method to estimate the drivable region that contains most of the informative clues for vanishing point detection. Based on the removal of the noise lines through a series of principles, a novel voting strategy is proposed to detect the vanishing point.

This study proposes an objective assessment model to evaluate the performance of internal and external capabilities of firms. It facilitates firms to invest appropriate resources to cultivate the organizational capability necessary to meet the requirements of the performance indicators.

This study integrates the concepts of resource-based theory, the organizational capability concept, and conduct a performance analysis to the four perspectives of the BSC by implementing the fuzzy set theory and data employment analysis.

The findings show that the appropriate strategies help allocate available resources and capabilities during the different product life cycle, which provides practical guidelines for firms to achieve sustaining competitive advantage.

The selected factors were focused on four resources and capabilities rather than all possible factors.

An objective assessment model was created based on internal and external competitive performance efficiency in this research field. This model facilitates the ability of the top management to make decisions for resource allocation that will enhance firm's performance.

The aim of this article is to construct a performance evaluation framework that can be employed in companies to enhance their business operations and strengthen their financial advantage in the current environment. To validate the approach, a case example has been included to assess the practicality and validity of this approach when applied in a real environment.

This study focuses on an important part of the strategic planning process: internal scrutiny and environmental (external) scanning, in which an evaluation of company performance is divided into two stages by using network DEA and the cross-efficiency approach. In addition, this article employs Miles and Snow's typology for classifying the strategies used by companies.

The analytical results show that the proposed framework can be useful for companies seeking to evaluate which strategies may be the most appropriate, based on Miles and Snow's typology, to effectively reallocate limited resources.

The evaluation in this study only uses financial data and does not take other nonfinancial indicators into consideration.

This research provides value by classifying each company included in the study in terms of its capability and financial efficiency according to Miles and Snow's system of strategy classification. Second, an internal and external performance measuring framework is constructed. Finally, some propositions for top management are provided by analyzing the financial advantages of using a performance evaluation framework that can help top management make decisions more objectively.

Drug warehouses (DWs) play a crucial role in drug distribution of government-supported healthcare supply chain as it controls both the cost and responsiveness of the logistics activities. The current study proposes a methodology using data envelopment analysis (DEA) to estimate the performance along different dimensions and was applied to 30 government-supported DWs.

This study employs DEA to evaluate the performance and relative technical efficiency of DWs. In this research, four inputs and six outputs are identified based on intensive literature review and discussion with all stakeholders of DWs. The inputs are warehouse storage capacity, temperature-controlled storage capacity, number of skilled employees and operational cost, while the outputs are fill rate, number of generic drugs, volume of drugs, consumption points, inventory turns ratio and time efficiency.

Results show that 30% DWs operate at the most productive scale size with 100% efficiency level while 47% DWs have a significant possibility for further enhancement in productive efficiency and 23% DWs should diminish their operational size to increase their productivity level. It was also found that achieving 100% operational productivity along warehouse space capacity needs significant effort, whereas other three inputs, namely temperature-controlled capacity, number of skilled employees and operational cost, require comparatively less effort. Similarly, it was observed that the performance along the fill rate and time efficiency is satisfactory, whereas the performance along other fours output variables (i.e. number of generic drugs, volume of drugs, consumption points and inventory turns ratio) needs to be improved.

The findings offer insights on the inputs and outputs that significantly contribute to efficiencies so that inefficient DWs can focus on these factors.

Although many issues related to DEA have been widely researched and reported, but no literature has been found for analysis of DWs in general and government-supported DWs specifically to find out efficiencies for supply chain performance improvement.

Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

The author scans the top 400 management publications in the world to identify the most topical issues and latest concepts. These are presented in an easy‐to‐digest briefing of no more than 1,500 words.

The title of a popular song informs us that only the strong survive. In today's challenging business world, that could not be any truer. However, shrewd companies readily acknowledge this and recognize the fact that any organization is only as strong as its leadership. They realize that remaining competitive depends to a large extent on managerial competence, which in turn requires organizational commitment to training, development and education.

Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to digest format.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that affect customers’ switching intentions among banks in the context of mergers and acquisitions, using particularly the case of the merger between Lloyds TSB and Halifax Bank of Scotland, which took place in 2009.

On the basis of the theory of planned behavior, a quantitative survey was developed and administered to 515 account holders from both banks in branches located in Spain. Structural equation modeling was then utilized to evaluate the significance of direct and indirect relationships between the various factors under study.

Empirical findings indicate a significant direct relationship between switching intentions and each of: behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, attitudes, and subjective norms. Results also reveal an inverse significant relationship between switching intentions and both control beliefs and perceived behavioral control.

The absence of a longitudinal study measuring the actual impact of the merger on customer switching behavior is the main limitation of this study. Moreover, despite being insightful, the results of this study should be generalized with caution since the sample was based on a list purposely chosen by the banks’ management.

This paper discusses customer switching behavior in the context of a real-life case of banks’ consolidation.

The purpose of this paper is to apply the theory of perceptual image to clothing, study the effect of bra components on the perceptual image of Chinese female consumers aged 18 to 27, explore the relationship between them, promote the computer-aided bra design to be more rapid and accurate and meet consumer's needs better.

In this paper, cognitive psychology and mathematical analysis methods were used, and two experiments were conducted. A reaction time experiment was conducted based on 3D virtual bra samples, proving that bra components have an effect on the consumer's perceptual image and obtaining a revised bra component design indicator system by multi-dimensional Scaling (MDS). A projection experiment was conducted to study what kind of relationship exists between the two, and a prediction model was constructed by the quantitative I-class theory.

It is found that bra components have an effect on perceptual image of Chinese female consumers aged 18 to 27. A total of five important components (cup area, center front height, torso width, side wing width and center back shape) that affect the consumer's perceptual image were identified by MDS and references analysis, and then a bra perceptual image space composed of five pairs of words was constructed by subjective evaluation and cluster analysis. What is more, a prediction model was obtained by the quantitative I-class theory; after testing, the model can visually and effectively predict consumer's perceptual image according to bra components indicators, which provide a convenience for the positive design of bras.

In this article, the authors just studied bra components, but did not take fabric, color and other factors that also affect the perceptual image into consideration. Further research can use this method to study other important influential factors as well as their comprehensive impact. Also, the subjects are Chinese young women; consumers of other age or from other countries are not involved, and more extensive research can be done in the future.

The bra component indicator system can help to build a more systematic and clearer bra design library, which provides convenience for designers to search and use them quickly, improving the efficiency of bra design. The prediction model is also helpful to bra designers and companies. When they already design a bra, they can use this model to predict consumer's perceptual image, thus carry out more accurate market positioning and promotion. When they want to satisfy consumers or design a specific effect, they can also refer to this model to reverse design of components. In general, the outcomes of this paper can help companies to quickly establish a computer-aided bra design system, which is conducive to designers to accurately design and better meet market's needs, and the method is also a good attempt to apply the theory of perceptual image in psychology to clothing and can be extended to other relevant fields in the future.

Based on cognitive psychology, this paper attempts to apply the theory of perceptual image in psychology into clothing and takes bra as an example to study the relationship between bra components and consumer's perceptual image. The prediction model constructed here is conducive to the development of bra design and to meet personalized needs of consumers. This method can also be extended to other fields in the future.

Previous research has shown that consumers prefer a bonus pack to a price discount for virtue foods, whereas they prefer a price discount to a bonus pack for vice foods. Acting as a guilt-mitigating mechanism, a price discount justifies consumers' purchasing behavior, allowing them to save money and consume less vice foods. However, for virtue foods, neither the anticipated post-consumption guilt nor the resulting need for justification lead consumers to prefer a bonus pack to a price discount. This study investigates whether product promotions remain effective with other moderating variables.

The authors use pricing tactic persuasion knowledge (PTPK), which refers to the consumer persuasion knowledge of marketers' pricing tactics, as a lens to understand whether the power of these promotions could be enhanced or mitigated. The authors inferred that increasing the frequency of exposure to these foods could positively influence consumers' purchasing choices. They conducted three studies to examine these effects. In Study 1, using pearl milk tea (vice food) and sugar-free tea (virtue food), the authors contended that consumers would prefer a price discount when purchasing pearl milk tea, but a bonus pack when purchasing sugar-free tea. In Studies 2 and 3, the authors varied the participants' frequency of exposure to photographs of people in everyday situations with vice (virtue) foods.

In Study 1, PTPK was shown to be more predictive of consumer choices regarding price discounts and bonus packs. In Studies 2 and 3, the authors contended that increased exposure to vice (virtue) foods increases the selection of vice (virtue) foods by participants who were unaware of having been exposed to vice (virtue) foods.

This research has not only made quite managerial and policy implications for marketing but also brought the theoretical contributions for marketing researches. This research demonstrates that either for vice foods or virtue foods, a price discount is preferred to a bonus pack.

This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a student participatory approach and assessment to achieve an environmentally friendly behaviour and change strategy.

Three time-phase studies employed a participatory and experiential case in the form of ecotourism experiential learning and assessment using a sample of 100 higher education students.

The findings suggest that students’ participations through the development, implementation and maintenance of nature-based experiences, combined with professional guides in educating students about sustainable practices has significant and positive effects on pro-environmental behaviour (PEB). The study reveals that social-psychological constructs (except environmental awareness) and socio-demographic variables account for variances in PEB intentions and provides managerial implications for marketers on the use of student participation to enhance behaviour.

Experiential and guided learning adds value to PEB through performance accomplishments and instrumental support.

The guiding principles of moral norms and acting in favour of the community (general social pressure and the underlying normative beliefs) lead to a higher tendency to perform according to the ideal behaviour.

This study is the first to use student participation, guided learning, tour guides and experiences to transfer the knowledge of PEB to individuals.

Given the susceptibility of cross‐cultural interaction to misunderstandings and disagreements, conflict management may be especially useful for helping employees develop quality leader relationships with their foreign managers. One hundred and eleven Chinese employees from various industries in Shanghai were interviewed on specific incidents where they had a conflict, defined as incompatible actions, with their Japanese manager or American manager. A qualitative analysis of the incidents and statistical tests of the data supported the hypotheses that a cooperative approach to conflict, rather than competitive or avoidance approaches, help Chinese employees and their foreign managers strengthen their relationship and improve their productivity. Cooperative conflict management may be an important way to overcome obstacles and develop an effective leader relationship across cultural boundaries.