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The aim of this paper is to circumvent the multi‐distribution effects and small sample constraints that may arise in unreplicated‐saturated fractional factorial designs during construction blueprint screening.

A simple additive ranking scheme is devised based on converting the responses of interest to rank variables regardless of the nature of each response and the optimization direction that may be issued for each of them. Collapsing all ranked responses to a single rank response, appropriately referred to as “Super‐Ranking”, allows simultaneous optimization for all factor settings considered.

The Super‐Rank response is treated by Wilcoxon's rank sum test or Mann‐Whitney's test, aiming to establish possible factor‐setting differences by exploring their statistical significance. An optimal value for each response is predicted.

It is stressed, by example, that the model may handle simultaneously any number of quality characteristics. A case study based on a real geotechnical engineering project is used to illustrate how this method may be applied for optimizing simultaneously three quality characteristics that belong to each of the three possible cases, i.e. “nominal‐is‐best”, “larger‐is‐better”, and “smaller‐is‐better” respectively. For this reason, a screening set of experiments is performed on a professional CAD/CAE software package making use of an L₈(2⁷) orthogonal array where all seven factor columns are saturated by group excavation controls.

The statistical nature of this method is discussed in comparison with results produced by the desirability method for the case of exhausted degrees of freedom for the error. The case study itself is a unique paradigm from the area of construction operations management.

To propose correct metadata elements, it was deemed necessary to close the gap between the perception of metadata creators and data creators through a user behavior analysis. This study aims to improve metadata elements of web‐based reference resources.

The study employed three types of surveys: behavior analysis of metadata creators, perception analysis of users, and system satisfaction. For analysis of metadata creators, the study examined data fields where metadata were recorded among metadata elements of reference resources. For user awareness analysis, respondents were asked to answer the necessity of 17 elements after they actually had entered data and to recommend other necessary elements. Finally, system satisfaction survey was followed.

As a result, first, it was found that the respondents recognized five elements: contributor, source, data, format, and relation as necessary input elements, which in practice had not been well recorded in real operating systems. The usability test also found that users entered the five elements more than other elements. Second, the first survey experience did not impact the second survey response. It was found that previous experience of system use had significantly impacted respondents' recognition of necessary metadata elements. It was also found that data input rate in the data input test had a significant influence on the change in the perception regarding necessary metadata. Third, the most chosen elements when searching for reference resources were found to be title, subject, description, and creator, in order of frequency. Fourth, respondents were surveyed on their satisfaction regarding nine questions after they had used a system (factor analysis). In this analysis, it was found that the users' satisfaction was relatively high in system usefulness, ease of system use, ease of understanding information, and sufficiency of metadata elements.

Since the 1990s, studies on the development of metadata elements for web‐based reference resources have been made and applied to the real world. Ever since, many reference resources web sites have been developed. However, it was found that no standard metadata format was built for web‐based reference resources and each website provided its own item to the minimal degree. The result of this study can provide a standardized and more consistent service for web‐based resource.

Considerable attention has been paid to the motives and process of idiosyncratic internationalization trajectory of Multinational Corporations from emerging economies (EMNCs). Yet, the ability to undertake strategic asset-seeking foreign direct investments (FDIs) is not the same as the ability to achieve subsequent investment success (Buckley, 2018). Since an ultimate goal of strategic asset-seeking FDIs is to tap advanced knowledge in host locations to accelerate EMNC competence creation, and the current study aims to shed light on the question of whether, and if so how, EMNCs have been able to build competences after strategic asset-seeking motivated FDIs.

This study tests the US patent and citation data from 2000 to 2014 of leading innovation-oriented MNCs from China and India, complemented with data from LexisNexis Directory of Corporate Affiliations and Mergent Online databases. Wilcoxon rank sum test is employed to compare EMNCs with control group MNCs from mature industrialized countries to identify key technological competence creation mechanisms of EMNCs. Negative binomial regression technique is then employed to test the relationship between the key mechanisms and EMNC innovative performance in terms of quantity and quality of patented inventions.

In contrast to the extant EMNC literature, the author finds that EMNC parents adopt a hands-on and less of an orchestrating approach. They are playing critical roles in accessing and transferring knowledge from international host locations. The empirical analyses indicate an absence of reverse transfers of knowledge from subsidiaries to the parent. Instead, EMNC parents directly access and absorb explicit knowledge from external sources in subsidiary host locations, which significantly contributes to EMNC innovative performance. Meanwhile, the author finds that the employment of intra-firm and inter-unit inventor teams and associated internal tacit knowledge access and transfer significantly contribute to EMNC innovative performance.

This study investigates the post-internationalization performance of EMNCs and contributes to the reconciliation of theoretical debates, as well as the generation of a comprehensive understanding of the MNC. Managerial implications are also discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a method to have more accurate results in comparing performance of the paired information retrieval (IR) systems with reference to the current method, which is based on the mean effectiveness scores of the systems across a set of identified topics/queries.

Based on the proposed approach, instead of the classic method of using a set of topic scores, the documents level scores are considered as the evaluation unit. These document scores are the defined document’s weight, which play the role of the mean average precision (MAP) score of the systems as a significance test’s statics. The experiments were conducted using the TREC 9 Web track collection.

The p-values generated through the two types of significance tests, namely the Student’s t-test and Mann-Whitney show that by using the document level scores as an evaluation unit, the difference between IR systems is more significant compared with utilizing topic scores.

Utilizing a suitable test collection is a primary prerequisite for IR systems comparative evaluation. However, in addition to reusable test collections, having an accurate statistical testing is a necessity for these evaluations. The findings of this study will assist IR researchers to evaluate their retrieval systems and algorithms more accurately.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a conceptualization and two‐stage pilot study that explores ways in which fuzzy sets can be used to measure the indexability of literary texts.

Participants provided a subject description for each in a series of literary and nonliterary texts. Each participant was also randomly assigned to one of three tasks: using a visual analog scale to rate the clarity of each text, using a visual analog scale to rate the confidence each participant felt in describing the subject of each text, or sorting the texts from most to least clear without the use of a visual analog scale. Nonparametric statistics and qualitative analysis were used to analyze the data.

Participants and coders used the visual analog scales successfully. The participants perceived literary texts as less clear than nonliterary texts, and expressed less confidence in their subject description of literary texts than in their descriptions of literary texts. The study found preliminary support for the idea that fuzzy sets can provide a useful theoretical basis for examining the indexability of texts.

A measure of the indexability of literary texts could help provide sound theoretical guidance for construction of tools to organize those texts. A structured comparison of literary and nonliterary texts could help to build a theoretical base from which to make practical decisions about whether and how to perform subject analysis on each type of text.

The purpose of this paper is to verify existence of political connection of firms in India. For this purpose the paper first presents a theoretical model and then tests empirically the movement of stock prices during two state elections in India.

The methodology is theoretical modelling where the paper applies the standard Cournot model of oligopoly. The paper then applies correlation and Wilcoxon Paired Rank Sum test to verify the results of the theoretical model by using data from the Indian stock market during the election results.

The theoretical result states that some firms opt for political connection and some remain independent in an oligopoly. It also shows that political connection affects stock price. The empirical results find out that divergent responses of stock prices to the election results can be linked to politically connection.

The theoretical model is a simple two firm model and not generalized to n number of firms. The empirical test considers only two state elections and applies simple statistical test. The study is restricted to one country only.

The paper has practical implications for stock market. It has implications for corporate governance and for political governance. This is important since political connection of firms has emerged as an important issue in India.

The paper is important as it addresses the issue of political connection of firms, which have ramifications for social equilibrium. In a democratic country like India any nexus between political party and firms may adversely affect not only corporate governance but also political governance.

This paper looks at political connectedness theoretically in a federal structure, an issue not addressed so far in the literature. Second it considers not so discussed topic of market perception of political connection in India. The originality of the paper is that it presents a theory and also verifies the theoretical results with empirical test.

Prior research suggests that institutional investors prefer higher priced stock, while individual investors prefer lower priced stock. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the IPO filing price reflects firm characteristics that are commonly associated with quality, including size, age, earnings, underwriter reputation and venture capital backing.

The authors used t-tests, Wilcoxon rank sum tests, logistic and ordinary least squares regressions to test the hypotheses.

The authors find that IPO filing prices are positively related to measures of quality, except venture backing, which impacts prices non-linearly. Ceteris paribus, small (large) venture backed firms’ filing prices are set significantly lower (higher).

Firm managers set IPO filing prices high when they believe the firm is likely to attract institutional investors due to its size, quality and certification, and will set prices low otherwise.

Individual investors should be wary of IPO firms with lower prices. Managers should be cognizant of the positive relationship between IPO quality and price.

This study provides evidence that IPO prices reflect firm quality and may be set deliberately to attract individual investors when institutional investor demand is expected to be low. It also provides evidence that venture backing affects IPO prices non-linearly, consistent with the grandstanding hypothesis.

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.

This paper aims to examine how knowledge sharing behavior is influenced by three sets of dynamics: a rational calculus that weighs the costs and benefits of sharing; a dispositional preference that favors certain patterns of sharing outcomes; and a relational effect based on working relationships.

Concepts from social exchange theory, social value orientation, and leader‐member exchange theory are applied to analyze behavioral intentions to share knowledge. The study population consists of employees of a large pension fund in Canada. Participants answered a survey that used allocation games and situational vignettes to measure social value orientation, propensity to share knowledge, and perception of cost and benefit.

The results suggest that personal preferences about the distribution of sharing outcomes, individual perceptions about costs and benefits, and structural relationship with knowledge recipients, all affect knowledge sharing behavior significantly. Notably, it was found that propensity to share knowledge is positively related to perceived benefit to the recipient, thus suggesting that evaluation of cost and benefit in social exchange is not limited to self‐interest, but is also influenced by perceived recipient benefit. Moreover, it was found that the relationship with the sharing target (superior or colleague) also influenced sharing.

Most studies emphasize the organizational benefits of knowledge sharing. This study examines knowledge sharing from the perspective of the individual who approaches knowledge sharing as a social exchange that involves perceptions of costs and benefits, preferences about sharing outcomes, and relationship with the sharing target. The study also introduces innovative methods to measure social value orientation and propensity to share knowledge.

This study examines the pricing of knowledge‐based firms compared with firms that are less dependent on human resources. The results show that an increasing dependence on human resources is followed by a rise in abnormal return. The results indicate that investors are not able to distinguish personnel investments from expenses, leading to an underestimation of earnings and return. The findings suggest that investors may need accounting information on human resources to help improve investment decisions. There is no evidence in the present material to suggest that investors perceive knowledge‐based firms as more risky compared with firms with more accountable (tangible) assets.