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1 – 10 of over 1000Rongen Yan, Depeng Dang, Hu Gao, Yan Wu and Wenhui Yu
Question answering (QA) answers the questions asked by people in the form of natural language. In the QA, due to the subjectivity of users, the questions they query have different…
Abstract
Purpose
Question answering (QA) answers the questions asked by people in the form of natural language. In the QA, due to the subjectivity of users, the questions they query have different expressions, which increases the difficulty of text retrieval. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore new query rewriting method for QA that integrates multiple related questions (RQs) to form an optimal question. Moreover, it is important to generate a new dataset of the original query (OQ) with multiple RQs.
Design/methodology/approach
This study collects a new dataset SQuAD_extend by crawling the QA community and uses word-graph to model the collected OQs. Next, Beam search finds the best path to get the best question. To deeply represent the features of the question, pretrained model BERT is used to model sentences.
Findings
The experimental results show three outstanding findings. (1) The quality of the answers is better after adding the RQs of the OQs. (2) The word-graph that is used to model the problem and choose the optimal path is conducive to finding the best question. (3) Finally, BERT can deeply characterize the semantics of the exact problem.
Originality/value
The proposed method can use word-graph to construct multiple questions and select the optimal path for rewriting the question, and the quality of answers is better than the baseline. In practice, the research results can help guide users to clarify their query intentions and finally achieve the best answer.
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Maoyu Zhang, Shiyu Zhou, Yan Wu and Shengming Liu
Despite the dramatic increase in people's use of social media, relatively few studies have examined its effect on careers. Drawing upon social comparison theory and…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the dramatic increase in people's use of social media, relatively few studies have examined its effect on careers. Drawing upon social comparison theory and self-regulation theory, this study aims to investigate how career-oriented social media usage interacts with social comparison orientation (SCO) to influence the career exploration of university students.
Design/methodology/approach
Three waves of survey data are collected from 482 university students in China. Hypotheses are tested through ordinary least squares analysis.
Findings
Results show that career-oriented social media usage increases career anxiety, which in turn promotes career exploration. Furthermore, SCO strengthens such influence of career-oriented social media usage.
Originality/value
Given the limited attention paid to the effects of social media in career contexts, this study distinguishes career-oriented social media usage and proposes insights into its effect on career exploration. In doing so, this study extends social media literature and provides implications for the transition of university students from school to work in the digital era.
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Xue-Yan Wu and Xujin Pu
Collaborative emission reduction among supply chain members has emerged as a new trend to achieve climate neutrality goals and meet consumers’ low-carbon preferences. However…
Abstract
Purpose
Collaborative emission reduction among supply chain members has emerged as a new trend to achieve climate neutrality goals and meet consumers’ low-carbon preferences. However, carbon information asymmetry and consumer mistrust represent significant obstacles. This paper investigates the value of blockchain technology (BCT) in solving the above issues.
Design/methodology/approach
A low-carbon supply chain consisting of one supplier and one manufacturer is examined. This study discusses three scenarios: non-adoption BCT, adoption BCT without sharing the supplier’s carbon emission reduction (CER) information and adoption BCT with sharing the supplier’s CER information. We analyze the optimal decisions of the supplier and the manufacturer through the Stackelberg game, identify the conditions in which the supplier and manufacturer adopt BCT and share information from the perspectives of economic and environmental performance.
Findings
The results show that adopting BCT benefits supply chain members, even if they do not share CER information through BCT. Furthermore, when the supplier’s CER efficiency is low, the manufacturer prefers that the supplier share this information. Counterintuitively, the supplier will only share CER information through BCT when the CER efficiencies of both the supplier and manufacturer are comparable. This diverges from the findings of existing studies, as the CER investments of the supplier and the manufacturer in this study are interdependent. In addition, despite the high energy consumption associated with BCT, the supplier and manufacturer embrace its adoption and share CER information for the sake of environmental benefits.
Practical implications
The firms in low-carbon supply chains can adopt BCT to improve consumers’ trust. Furthermore, if the CER efficiencies of the firms are low, they should share CER information through BCT. Nonetheless, a lower unit usage cost of BCT is the precondition.
Originality/value
This paper makes the first move to discuss BCT adoption and BCT-supported information sharing for collaborative emission reduction in supply chains while considering the transparency and high consumption of BCT.
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Muthmainnah, Ahmad Al Yakin, Muhammad Massyat, Luís Cardoso and Andi Asrifan
Purpose: This study aims to identify communication speech acts and transaction terms in online stores (Olshop) during live streaming on Facebook amid the COVID-19 pandemic and to…
Abstract
Purpose: This study aims to identify communication speech acts and transaction terms in online stores (Olshop) during live streaming on Facebook amid the COVID-19 pandemic and to understand communication patterns between sellers and buyers when shopping on Facebook live streaming in Indonesia.
The Need for Research: This research is motivated by the skill gap arising from increasing buying and selling transactions through live streaming on Facebook. Cultural and demographic shifts, along with the widespread availability of modern technologies and marketing 2.0 have resulted in the global population adopting social media at rates far beyond our use of the Internet, making a compelling case by example and analogy that social media has the potential to level the playing field and is effective in reaching their target market.
Methodology: The type of research is descriptive-qualitative using corpus data instruments. The data collection technique in this study was carried out by reading and observing the data and listening to speeches about buying and selling women’s equipment from various online stores on Facebook. Then select and sort the data designated as forms, strategies, and functions of speech acts in buying and selling transactions during live streaming on Facebook. The data analysis technique has three steps: (1) reducing the amount of data; (2) presenting the data; and (3) concluding.
Findings: The results show that there are four types of speech acts between sellers and buyers in the live-streaming online shop on Facebook, namely, assertive, directive, expressive, and commissive speech acts.
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This study examines how informal business networks achieve marketing goals in socially uncertain contexts. Drawing from multiple historical sources, Shangbangs, a type of business…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines how informal business networks achieve marketing goals in socially uncertain contexts. Drawing from multiple historical sources, Shangbangs, a type of business network that thrived in pre-1949 China, are analyzed.
Design/methodology/approach
The Critical Historical Research Method (CHRM) undergirds a study of Shangbangs’ historicity (i.e. their socio-historically embedded multiplicity, including organizational forms, activities and connotations.
Findings
As informal regional, professional, project-based, special-product-based or mixed marketing networks, Shangbangs relied on “flexible specialization” and coupled multiple business needs to market goods and services, business organizations, specific social values and, when necessary, to debrand business rivals.
Research limitations/implications
This analysis extends theories about marketing networks by probing their subtypes, diverse marketing activities, multipronged channels and relationship building with social entities (including underground societies, business associations and guilds) in response to pre-1949 China’s market uncertainties. Substantiating an alternative approach to “flexible specialization” and marketing innovations within the pre-1949 Chinese economy shows how a parallel theoretical framework can complement western-based marketing theories.
Originality/value
This first comprehensive analysis of Shangbangs, an innovative historical Chinese marketing network outside the conventional market-corporate dichotomy, can inform theory building for marketing strategy-making and management conditioned by social contexts.
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Xiaojie Xu and Yun Zhang
The Chinese housing market has gone through rapid growth during the past decade, and house price forecasting has evolved to be a significant issue that draws enormous attention…
Abstract
Purpose
The Chinese housing market has gone through rapid growth during the past decade, and house price forecasting has evolved to be a significant issue that draws enormous attention from investors, policy makers and researchers. This study investigates neural networks for composite property price index forecasting from ten major Chinese cities for the period of July 2005–April 2021.
Design/methodology/approach
The goal is to build simple and accurate neural network models that contribute to pure technical forecasts of composite property prices. To facilitate the analysis, the authors consider different model settings across algorithms, delays, hidden neurons and data spitting ratios.
Findings
The authors arrive at a pretty simple neural network with six delays and three hidden neurons, which generates rather stable performance of average relative root mean square errors across the ten cities below 1% for the training, validation and testing phases.
Originality/value
Results here could be utilized on a standalone basis or combined with fundamental forecasts to help form perspectives of composite property price trends and conduct policy analysis.
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Tongtong Yan, Jing Wu and Hu Meng
The study aims to explore how fashion visual symbols influence consumers' inclination for repurchasing. It attempts to investigate the intricate interplay among three essential…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to explore how fashion visual symbols influence consumers' inclination for repurchasing. It attempts to investigate the intricate interplay among three essential variables (social presence, collective excitement and cultural identification) from the perspective of Interaction Ritual Chains theory. Meanwhile, an attempt is made to reveal the underlying patterns in these relationships, fully harnessing the positive impact of fashion brand visual symbols in brand marketing.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employs a quantitative research methodology, administering an online survey in China, from which 381 valid responses were collected by simple random sampling. The acquired data were subjected to structural equation model and hypotheses testing.
Findings
The analysis reveals that heightened visual symbol perception significantly strengthens consumers' social presence, consequently elevating the probability of collective excitement. This establishes a mediated chain model, reinforcing repurchase intention. Additionally, the moderation effect analysis indicates that cultural identification negatively moderates both direct paths in the mediated chain model, with particularly pronounced effects for low cultural identification.
Originality/value
This study establishes a closed-loop system in fashion brand product marketing, continuously enhancing the intimacy and interactive willingness between consumers, as well as between consumers and the brand. The objective is to increase brand repurchase rates. Additionally, the research provides valuable recommendations and strategies for fashion brands to adapt to Chinese consumer demands, strengthen emotional attachment between consumers and the brand, and achieve sustainable development in the realm of fashion consumption.
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Arjun Pratap Upadhyay and Pankaj Kumar Baag
This paper reviews the literature on zombie firms to provide a holistic view by delineating their formation, impact, widespread nature, prevention and policy implications.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper reviews the literature on zombie firms to provide a holistic view by delineating their formation, impact, widespread nature, prevention and policy implications.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a systematic literature review methodology, in which 76 papers published in journals ranked on the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) 2022 list were reviewed. The study period was from 2000 to 2022.
Findings
Among the main findings, the widespread problems of zombie firms were evident. The authors found that consistent support, either in the form of government grants or a weak financial framework, was responsible for their formation. The suboptimal performance of factors of production, depressed job creation, low innovation and overall negative impact on economic activity are the consequences of zombification. This can be controlled by ensuring better bankruptcy codes, focused on government assistance, technology use and better due diligence by banks.
Practical implications
This review serves as a reference point for future researchers as a cohesive and holistic study presenting a full picture of the problem, so that the proposed solutions are robust and tenable.
Originality/value
This review is among the initial attempts to comprehensively study published work on zombie firms in terms of analyzing their region-specific nature, with an emphasis on definition, causes, impact and prevention.
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Esmir Demaj and Denis Mehillaj
Lean manufacturing, a philosophy that revolutionized the manufacturing industry, is often linked to the Toyota Production System (TPS). At the core of a lean company, one can…
Abstract
Lean manufacturing, a philosophy that revolutionized the manufacturing industry, is often linked to the Toyota Production System (TPS). At the core of a lean company, one can observe proper implementation of lean manufacturing tools and practices such as just-in-time, work teams, cellular manufacturing, lean layout, etc. The goal of lean production is to minimize the waste producing activities while offering the same or enhanced quality to customers.
The aim of this research is to investigate the implementation degree of lean manufacturing and its tools and practices focusing on the case of an SME in Albania as a concrete example. Higher attention is given to some of the pillars of lean manufacturing such as just-in-time and cellular manufacturing.
In this case study, researchers observed a variety of features of lean production. Just-in-time was implemented to a certain extent and cellular manufacturing at a more surprising level, which was facilitated especially by the U-shaped facility layout designs observed during the site visits. The value stream mapping showed a proper group technology in place and the management displayed signs of engagement and future advancement desire regarding this philosophy.
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Martha Esther Guerra Muñoz, Rober Trinidad Romero Ramirez and Freddy David Zuluaga Guerrra
This chapter provides a literature review on the topic of emotional intelligence (EI) in the workplace. Quantitative methods were used, with surveys sent to a predetermined sample…
Abstract
This chapter provides a literature review on the topic of emotional intelligence (EI) in the workplace. Quantitative methods were used, with surveys sent to a predetermined sample and processed with the SPSS statistical package. The overall aim of the study was to investigate the effect of EI based on self-awareness, self-management, empathy, and relationship management on work engagement in a public university. One hundred eight professors at the public university. The data for this study were collected by means of a questionnaire. In total, there are 23 questions on a Likert scale. Cronbach's alpha showed that the reliability of the instrument was higher than 0.763. In light of the data, it has been shown that there is correlation between self-awareness, self-management, relationship management, empathy with both work engagement and job satisfaction. Furthermore, the results show that EI is significantly related to both university loyalty and job happiness. Only a conditional link was created between professors' achievements and the success of the public university.
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