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This article examines the differential effects of two types of trust (affect based and cognition based) and two types of feelings (ganqing and jiaoqing) on different knowledge-sharing processes (seeking, transfer, and adoption) among Chinese employees. The influences of these different types of trust and feelings on Chinese employeesʼ propensities to seek, transfer, and adopt explicit and tacit knowledge are also analyzed and discussed. The analysis shows affect-based trust increases knowledge transfer, while cognition-based trust is more important to knowledge seeking and adoption. Affect-based trust alone can facilitate the different processes of sharing explicit knowledge. Effective sharing of tacit knowledge, on the other hand, requires the simul-taneous support from affect-based trust and cognition-based trust. Ganqing and jiaoqing are also important in knowledge transfer and adoption. Either feeling may increase the likelihood to seek, transfer, and adopt explicit knowledge by itself. The influences of both feelings on tacit knowledge seeking, transfer, and adoption hinge on the presence of cognition-based trust.

Vertical lift (VL) assets are vital and expensive resources in humanitarian missions. What and where supplies are needed evolves in short time following a disaster. The purpose of this paper is to offer analysis to understand the range of capabilities of these assets.

The authors use scenario analysis to investigate the tradeoff between two key capabilities of VL, agility and speed. The authors do this by generating loads and distances randomly, based on historical data. In post hoc analysis, based on different factors, the authors investigate the impact of configuration of Expeditionary Strike Force (ESG) on providing disaster relief.

The authors find the most effective deployment of VL in a HADR mission is in supplying essentials to victims in a focused region. Delivering sustainment requirements leads to substantial shortfall for survival needs. If the configuration of the ESGs were changed for HADR, it would better-meet the demand.

Cargo capacity is modeled assuming every aircraft type was equal, in terms of mean and variance of cargo-capacity utilization. Detailed information on cargo-bay configurations was beyond the scope of our model and data. However, this means the benefit of standardizing cargo load-outs and the variability associated with randomized load-outs may be understated in the results.

The analysis presents decision-makers with projections of VL asset performance in the early stages of disaster relief, to assist in planning and contingency planning.

This research deals exclusively with the most critical but expensive capabilities for HADR: VL. The in-depth analysis illustrates the limitations and benefits of this capability.

Using the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics II dataset, we examine the role that household income plays in the emergence of consumer-oriented start-ups by individual (solo), family-based (family), and non-family based start-ups (team). In particular, we address the research question: Does household income impact firm emergence, and if so, is emergence impacted differently based on start-up configuration? Our results indicate that household income does have a significant impact on average firm emergence, as well as on emergence growth rates for solo and family firms, playing an especially significant role for family firms. Furthermore, we found that household income is not a significant predictor of start-up activity completion for teams. Results from our study reinforce the extant literature on the benefits of starting a firm with teams, and suggests that these enterprise types may provide a more stable platform on which to launch a start-up. Implications of these findings and opportunities for future research are offered.

Recent legislation resulted in an elevation of operating and support (O&S) costs’ relative importance for decision-making in Department of Defense programs. However, a lack of research in O&S hinders a cost analyst’s abilities to provide accurate sustainment estimates. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate when Air Force aircraft O&S costs stabilize and to what degree. Next, a parametric O&S model is developed to predict median O&S costs for use as a new tool for cost analyst practitioners.

Utilizing the Air Force total ownership cost database, 44 programs consisting of 765 observations from 1996 to 2016 are analyzed. First, stability is examined in three areas: total O&S costs, the six O&S cost element structures and by aircraft type. Next, stepwise regression is used to predict median O&S costs per total active inventory (CPTAI) and identify influential variables.

Stability results vary by category but generally are found to occur approximately five years from initial operating capability. The regression model explains 89.01 per cent of the variance in the data set when predicting median O&S CPTAI. Aircraft type, location of lead logistics center and unit cost are the three largest contributing factors.

Results from this research provide insight to cost analysts on when to start using actual O&S costs as a baseline for estimates in lieu of analogous cost program data and also derives a new parametric O&S estimating tool designed as a cross-check to current estimating methodologies.

Retaining employee loyalty after restructuring is a problem for all types of businesses. The major issue concerns how management and employees can establish a new, mutually acceptable "psychological contract" which ensures employee loyalty but not lifelong employment. Eighteen small businesses in Fairfield County, Connecticut were surveyed to investigate loyalty and motivation after downsizing. A significant correlation was found between loyalty and motivation. Furthermore, several motivational techniques employed were inconsistent with employee needs. Suggestions are offered on how to retain employee loyalty.

The handmade bicycle industry has grown exponentially over the past decade. Although existing for decades in much smaller numbers, the popularity and credibility of framebuilder entrepreneurship–custom, handmade bike frames–has increased significantly in the past 10 years. The companies that specialize in custom-producing bicycle frames vary in size, scope, reputation, profitability, and even building materials.

This paper aims to study the implication of the stochastic gross-profit-per-day objective on the ship profitability and the ship capacity and speed.

The paper has used the mathematical model and the solution methodology given by El Noshokaty, 2013, 2014, 2017a, 2017b, and SOS, 2019.

The paper finds that if the ship owner follows the rate concept and the cargo demand forecast, he can improve the profitability of his company and be able to select the proper capacities and speeds for the ships used.

The findings are not only useful for the shipping or other cargo transport companies but also for businesses like gas reservoir development, car assembly lines in the industry, cooperative farming and crop harvesting in agriculture, port cargo handling in trade and road paving in construction.

The contribution of this paper lies in notifying the ship owners of the possible profitability improvement and the consequences of building ships of larger capacities and slower speeds.

Drawing from legitimacy and institutional entrepreneurship theory, this study assesses the naming patterns of entrepreneurial firms in the US biotechnology industry.

The authors use a mixed-methods design of content analysis and regression to analyze a sample of 441 entrepreneurial biotechnology firms, for which data were obtained from Net Advantage. The authors track changes to the proportion of firms with naming attributes, such as name length and type of name. The authors also examine variability in those characteristics during the industry's evolution, comparing freestanding to acquired start-ups.

Start-ups select names that are longer, more descriptive, begin with rare sounds or hard plosives and have stronger discipline- or technology-specific links during nascent years of the industry. As the industry evolves, entrepreneurs are more likely to select names that are shorter, more abstract, begin with hard plosives and have stronger industry-specific links. The naming patterns of freestanding and acquired companies differ, and companies that conform to industry pressures tend to remain independent.

Unlike extant studies that assess established industries, the current study identifies shifting trends in the naming patterns of entrepreneurial firms in an emerging industry. By focusing on start-ups, the authors expand research on organizational naming practices, which focuses traditionally on name choices and name change patterns of incumbents. By using marketing and linguistics methods when analyzing organizational name attributes, naming patterns in these attributes are identified, including name length, name type, starting letter of the name and link to the industry.

The purpose of this paper is to show how data analytics can be used to identify areas of potential cost savings for category managers of installation-level services. Using integrated solid waste management (ISWM) as a test case, the authors also examine the impact of small business set-asides on price and contractor performance.

The authors use data analytics, specifically sequential regression, the Wilcoxon rank-sum test and ordered logistic regression to investigate the influence of service- and contracting-related variables on price and contractor performance.

The authors find that service- and contracting-related variables influence price. Specifically, they identify that a service-related variable, number of containers, significantly affects price, and that two contracting-related variables, one type of small business set-aside and the number of offers received, also significantly affect price. The authors quantify the price premiums paid for using various types of small business set-asides.

Although the findings were significant, the authors believe that the robustness of the conclusions could be enhanced if the Air Force captured more data. Additional observations would increase the generalizability of the results.

This empirical experiment demonstrates that detailed analyses are required to gain insights into services’ price drivers to craft more appropriate category management strategies for installation-level services.

This empirical study shows how historical data can be used to assess price drivers of installation-level services. It is also one of the first to quantify the impact that small business set-asides have on price.

To recover the growing deficit between American and near-peer mobile artillery ranges, the US Army is exploring the use of the M982 Excalibur munition, a family of long-range precision projectiles. This paper aims to analyze the effectiveness of the M982 in comparison to the M795 and M549A1 projectiles to further the understanding of what this new asset contributes.

Based upon doctrinal scenarios for target destruction, a statistical analysis is performed using Monte Carlo simulation to identify a likely probability of kill ratio for the M982. A values-based hierarchical modeling approach is then used to differentiate the M982 from similar-type projectiles quantitatively in terms of several different attributes. Finally, sensitivity analyzes are presented for each of the value attributes, to identify areas where measures may lack robustness in precision.

Based upon a set of seven value measures, such as maximum range, effective range, the expected number of rounds to destroy a target, and the unit cost of a munition, the M982 1a-2 was found to be best suited for engaging point and small area targets. It is noted, however, that the M795 and M549A1 projectiles are likely better munition options for large area targets. Hence, an integrated targeting plan may best optimize the force’s weapon systems against a near-peer adversary.

The findings provide initial evidence that doctrinal adjustments in how the Army uses its artillery systems may be beneficial in facing near-peer adversaries. In addition, the values-based modeling approach offered in this research provides a framework for which similar technological advances may be examined.