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Video game streaming (VGS) is emerging as an extremely popular, highly interactive, inordinately subscribed and very dynamic form of digital media. Incorporated environmental elements, gratifications and user pre-existing attitudes in VGS, this paper presents the development of an extended model of uses and gratification theory (EUGT) for predicting users' behavior in novel technological context.

The proposed model was empirically tested in VGS context due to its popularity, interactivity and relevance. Data collected from 308 VGS users and structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to assess the hypotheses. Multi-model comparison technique was used to assess the explanatory power of EUGT.

The findings confirmed three significant types elements in determining VGS viewers' engagement, including gratifications (e.g. involvement), environmental cues (e.g. medium appeal) and user predispositions (e.g. pre-existing attitudes). The results revealed that emerging technologies provide potential opportunities for new motives and gratifications, and highlighted the significant of pre-existing attitudes as a mediator in the gratification-uses link.

This study is one of its kind in tackling the criticism on UGT of considering media users too rational or active. The study achieved this objective by considering environmental impacts on user behavior which is largely ignored in recent UGT studies. Also, by incorporating users pre-existing attitudes into UGT framework, this study conceptualized and empirically verified the higher explanatory power of EUGT through a novel multi-modal approach in VGS. Compared to other rival models, EUGS provides a more robust explanation of users' behavior. The findings contribute to the literature of UGT, VGS and users' engagement.

This study elicits the critical attributes, consequences and values associated with the purchasing process in the context of cross-border e-commerce (CBEC). The purpose is to provide a better understanding of the fundamental factors that determine consumer values in CBEC.

The study applies the means-end-chain theory and soft-laddering techniques to interview 60 CBEC consumers to construct an implication matrix and a hierarchical value map (HVM) of the consumer purchasing process, consisting of attribute-consequence-value (A-C-V) paths.

By analyzing the significant linkages, elements, ladders and chains in the HVM, four dominant A-C-V paths were identified: economic-driven, efficiency-driven, progress-driven and quality-driven paths.

This study included only Chinese CBEC buyers. This limitation might affect the generalizability of the conclusions as culture, purchase habits and economic development differ between China and other countries.

The results of this study provide CBEC practitioners an understanding of the consumer purchasing process and how consumer values are associated with platform characteristics. Thus, the results aid practitioners in allocating resources and developing CBEC platforms in an appropriate manner and direction.

This study sheds lights on the emerging phenomenon of CBEC. By applying the means-end-chain approach, the study provides a comprehensive HVM for interpreting the consumer online purchasing process in this novel context. By illustrating the dominant paths, this research provides deeper theoretical insights into the specific focuses of CBEC consumer purchasing.

There is a dearth of knowledge regarding how user dependency offers valuable resources to develop the intellectual capital of social streaming apps (SSAs) companies. This study aims to integrate major conceptual components of the UandD model, identify contextualized goal-oriented SSA dependency and empirically evaluate their interrelated user-dependency relationships in the SSA context.

A mixed-methods approach was utilized in this study. First, user gratifications were elicited through a qualitative approach, considering the exploratory stage of the SSA phenomenon. Second, statistical methods were applied to investigate and extract the sub-dimensions of SSA dependency. At last, a research model was developed grounded on the UandD model and empirically validated using the quantitative approach.

The results validated the gratification-dependency-attitude-behavior relationships hypothesized by the UandD framework in SSA. The role of user-SSA dependency in enhancing intellectual capital in the social media industry has been highlighted in this study.

This research not only provides an opportunity for the UandD model to realize its theoretical potential as envisioned by scholars but also contributes to the scholarship on social streaming apps and media dependency theory by conceptualizing goal-oriented dependency in SSAs.

The research results will guide digital media practitioners to a more nuanced understanding of the relationships between their users and modern digital media apps and thus empower the practitioners to better manage their intellectual capital based on the facilitation of their users’ dependency.

This work is one of the pioneers in contextualizing the UandD model in the SSA field, refining and measuring the SSA dependency and its distinct subdimensions and employing mixed-methods to offer a comprehensive understanding of how user dependency boosts intellectual capital in the SSA industry.

The aim of this research is to quantitatively synthesize empirical findings of the effect of discount level on consumer response to the coupon.

The authors used the meta-analysis method to synthesize coupons' discount level effects on consumer response. Meta-regression was used to examine the moderating factors that affect the relationship between discount level and consumer response.

The average effect size of the discount level is 0.331, indicating that higher discount levels lead to higher consumer responses. The effect of discount level on consumer response to the coupon is stronger when the discount is displayed in proportion format (vs amount format), when consumers are distant (vs near) to the coupon-issuing stores, and when consumers have not opted-in to receive promotional information. The discount level effect is weaker for coupons that can be redeemed online (vs offline only), for hedonic products (vs utilitarian products) and for products of real brands.

From information processing and cost–benefit trade-off perspectives, this research proposes a comprehensive research framework that synthesizes a variety of contextual factors. It identifies several contextual factors that may reconcile several inconsistent findings in the existing literature. It also addresses how the new-technology related factors affect coupon redemption under different discount levels.

The major problem that limits the widespread use of WAAM technology is the forming quality. However, most of the current research focuses on post-process detections that are time-consuming, expensive and destructive. This paper aims to achieve the on-line detection and classification of the common defects, including hump, deposition collapse, deviation, internal pore and surface slag inclusion.

This paper proposes an in-process multi-feature data fusion nondestructive testing method based on the temperature field of the WAAM process. A thermal imager is used to collect the temperature data of the deposition layer in real-time. Efficient processing methods are proposed in this paper, such as the temperature stack algorithm, width extraction algorithm and a classification model based on a residual neural network. Some features closely related to the forming quality were extracted, containing the profile image and width curve of the deposition layer and abnormal temperature features in longitudinal and cross-sections. These features are used to achieve the detection and classification of defects.

Thermal non-destructive testing is a potentially superior technology for in-process detection in the industrial field. Based on the temperature field, extracting the most relevant features of the defect information is crucial. This paper pushes current infrared (IR) monitoring methods toward real-time detection and proposes an in-process multi-feature data fusion non-destructive testing method based on the temperature field of the WAAM process.

In this paper, the single-layer and multi-layer WAAM samples are preset with various defects, such as hump, deposition collapse, deviation, pore and slag inclusion. A multi-feature nondestructive testing methodology is proposed to realize the in-process detection and classification of the defects. A temperature stack algorithm is proposed, which improves the detection accuracy of profile change and solves the problem of uneven temperature from arc striking to arc extinguishing. The combination of residual neural network greatly improves the accuracy and efficiency of detection.

The main purpose of this study is to examine the effect of corporate digital transformation on bond credit spreads. Additionally, it also explores the two potential channels, information asymmetry and default risk, through which digital transformation can influence bond credit spreads.

We use the bond issuance data of Chinese listed companies over the period 2008–2020. Corporate digital transformation of these companies is measured with textual analysis of the management discussion and analysis part of annual reports. We employ a panel regression model to estimate the effect of digital transformation on bond credit spreads.

We find robust evidence that companies with higher digital transformation experience lower bond credit spreads. We further observe that credit spread reduction is higher for firms that are smaller, non-state-owned, have lower credit ratings and have less analyst coverage. We also find evidence that digital transformation reduces credit spreads by reducing the information asymmetry between firms and investors with enhanced information transformation mechanisms and lowering corporate default risk by strengthening operating efficiency.

To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first attempt to understand the impact of corporate digital transformation on bond credit spreads. Our findings help to understand the effect of digital transformation on firms’ credit worthiness and access to capital.

Western research on teams has paid an increasing attention to team's emotional process and corresponding outcomes. However, there were seldom studies examining the influence mechanism of team leader emotional intelligence on subordinate outcomes in teams, and the previous studies often neglected the team context. The aim of the study is to explore the cross‐level effect of team leader emotional intelligence and team emotional climate on team member job satisfaction.

Questionnaire survey on 148 team leaders and 840 team members was conducted. The paper applied hierarchical linear modeling analyses with the software HLM 6.06 to test the hypotheses.

The analyses on the matched sample showed that team negative emotional climate has negative effect on team member job satisfaction, and team emotional climate moderates the relationship between leader emotional intelligence and team member job satisfaction such that leader emotional intelligence has stronger effect on member job satisfaction as team emotional climate becomes more negative.

First, it is a single time period study and cross‐sectional research design, which limits our ability to make causal inferences about the relationships proposed. Second, team leader emotional intelligence was reported by team leader themselves, and it will be better to combine self‐report and other‐report measures of emotional intelligence in the future study.

This study extends the existing theory through a cross‐level framework that examines how team emotional climate interacts with team leader emotional intelligence to affect member job satisfaction, thus enriches the studies on emotional intelligence and leadership, team emotional climate and team effectiveness. The study also provides evidence of group‐level emotion in China, a non‐Western cultural country, which enriches the existing body of studies sampling exclusively from Western cultural groups and the research of emotions in organizations at group level.

This paper aims to figure out the relationship between energy consumption flow from a new perspective of embodied energy inventory index (EEII) and regional economic growth.

The input-output approach has been applied to calculate embodied energy inventory (EEI) and EEII using the data of 25 economies. Meanwhile, cluster analysis and panel data modeling were applied to carry out detailed research.

The results of cluster analysis show that there is a roughly negative relationship between EEII and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, although there are some exceptions, such as Russia and Taiwan (Province of China). Panel data model results provide further evidence that there is a negative relationship between EEII and GDP per capita. Population is an important productive factor in the regional economic development. The study showed a positive relationship between EEII and population. Therefore, energy consumption flow is closely related to regional economic development.

The value of this paper is to use EEI and EEII to comprehensively clarify the energy consumption flow. The advantage of EEII is that it can reflect the energy embodied in fixed assets and infrastructure.

This research addresses the pressing need for comprehensive studies in the rapidly evolving field of city tourism. This study aims to understand the overall performance of the International Journal of Tourism Cities (IJTC), the structure of knowledge in city tourism research and the prevalent themes and trends arising from IJTC.

A bibliometric analysis was conducted to scrutinize the publication patterns in IJTC. This involved examining parameters such as the annual count of published articles, the keywords used in them and their respective authors.

The findings reveal that IJTC has a growing and diverse publication output, establishing itself as a reputable and influential publication within urban tourism research. The results reflect various aspects and themes in city tourism research.

The study has certain limitations. The data used for analysis was obtained exclusively from the Scopus database. The analysis was conducted using only one software package, Bibliometrix. Other software packages may offer different features for bibliometric analysis. The study relied exclusively on quantitative methods for data analysis. Qualitative methods could have provided more nuanced interpretations of the data.

Comparative analyses could be conducted between IJTC and other journals within urban tourism or related disciplines. Such research would yield valuable insights into the current state of the field and aid in identifying areas warranting further investigation.

The findings from this study can inform the decisions and actions of various stakeholders involved in urban tourism. Practitioners and policymakers can draw from this research to make informed decisions. Existing and emerging authors can identify relevant topics for their research. Readers can access pertinent information for their needs.

This study offers a unique contribution by thoroughly comprehending the performance of IJTC between 2015 and 2023. It progresses the existing body of knowledge on city tourism research by examining its current status and future trends.

This article attempts to contribute to medical dispute resolution by examining the adoption of medical judicial expertise opinions in determining medical malpractice responsibility and its coordination with the judge’s legal opinions.

This article examines the legal basis and empirical data to demonstrate the decisive effect of medical judicial experts’ opinions in allocating medical malpractice responsibility and corresponding dispute resolution effectiveness.

High reliance on medical judicial expertise in medical dispute litigation not only unifies the judicial standards but also limits judges’ discretion, which brings the risk of contradiction between factual and legal findings, which currently ends in judges’ compromise.

The current medical malpractice provisions neglect the divergence of medical judicial expertise and judges’ opinions in determining medical malpractice responsibility, which produces difficulties in harmonizing awarded compensations and parties’ expectations, leading to problematic medical dispute litigation in Mainland China.