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1 – 4 of 4Yang S. Yang, Xiaojin Sun, Mengge Li and Tingting Yan
This study investigates the extent to which a firm’s centrality and autonomy in its supply network are associated with the intensity and complexity of its competitive actions.
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the extent to which a firm’s centrality and autonomy in its supply network are associated with the intensity and complexity of its competitive actions.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilizing social network analysis and dynamic panel data models, this study analyzes a comprehensive panel dataset with 10,802 firm-year observations across various industries between 2011 and 2018 to test the hypotheses.
Findings
Our findings show that a firm’s level of centrality in its supply network has an inverted U-shaped relationship with both competitive intensity and competitive complexity. In addition, the turning points of these two inverted U-shaped relationships differ in that firms with a lower level of centrality tend to compete aggressively by launching more actions within fewer categories, while firms with a higher level of centrality tend to compete aggressively by launching fewer actions that cover a larger range of categories. Finally, we find that a firm’s structural autonomy has a positive relationship with competitive complexity.
Originality/value
This study bridges the gap between the supply chain management literature and strategic management literature and investigates how supply networks shape competitive aggressiveness. In particular, this research investigates how a firm’s structural position in its supply network affects its competitive actions, an important intermediate mechanism for competitive advantage that has been overlooked in the supply chain management literature.
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Huiying Gao, Shan Lu and Xiaojin Kou
The purpose of this study is to identify medical service quality factors that patients care about and establish a medical service quality evaluation index system by analyzing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify medical service quality factors that patients care about and establish a medical service quality evaluation index system by analyzing online reviews of medical and healthcare service platforms in combination with a questionnaire survey.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a combination of review mining and questionnaire surveys. The latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) model was used to mine hospital reviews on the medical and healthcare service platform to obtain the medical service quality factors that patients pay attention to, and then the questionnaire was administered to obtain the relative importance of these factors to patients' perception of service quality. Finally, the index system was established.
Findings
The medical service quality factors patients care about include medical skills and ethics, registration service, operation effect, consulting communication, drug therapy, diagnosis process and medical equipment.
Research limitations/implications
The identification of medical service quality factors provides a reference for medical institutions to improve their medical service quality.
Originality/value
This study uses online review mining to obtain medical service quality factors from the perspective of patients, which is different from previous methods of obtaining factors from relevant literature or expert judgments; then, based on the mining results, a medical service quality evaluation index system is established by using questionnaire data.
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Miguel A. Ramos and Nathan J. Ashby
The purpose of this paper is to develop and test theory regarding a geographic halo effect, whereby foreign investors draw overly broad impressions about a country based on high…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop and test theory regarding a geographic halo effect, whereby foreign investors draw overly broad impressions about a country based on high levels of violent crime in specific locations impacting foreign direct investment (FDI) across the country.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyze the impact of homicides on FDI by source country into Mexican states from 2001 to 2015. They estimate fixed effect and dynamic panel models controlling for several determinants of FDI at the state level and the potential geographic spillover of such violence from adjacent states.
Findings
The authors find robust support for the existence of a geographic halo effect caused by violent crime. The results show that the highest number of state homicides is associated with lower FDI across states.
Research limitations/implications
The research provides some evidence of the potential role of cognitive biases on FDI decisions. In addition, its focus on Latin America brings attention to an understudied region in international business research.
Practical implications
For practitioners engaged in FDI decisions, the results imply the need to be more aware of potential cognitive biases that may influence them.
Originality/value
Few papers have explored the influence of cognitive biases on FDI.
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Damian Tago, Henrik Andersson and Nicolas Treich
This study contributes to the understanding of the health effects of pesticides exposure and of how pesticides have been and should be regulated.
Abstract
Purpose
This study contributes to the understanding of the health effects of pesticides exposure and of how pesticides have been and should be regulated.
Design/methodology/approach
This study presents literature reviews for the period 2000–2013 on (i) the health effects of pesticides and on (ii) preference valuation of health risks related to pesticides, as well as a discussion of the role of benefit-cost analysis applied to pesticide regulatory measures.
Findings
This study indicates that the health literature has focused on individuals with direct exposure to pesticides, i.e. farmers, while the literature on preference valuation has focused on those with indirect exposure, i.e. consumers. The discussion highlights the need to clarify the rationale for regulating pesticides, the role of risk perceptions in benefit-cost analysis, and the importance of inter-disciplinary research in this area.
Originality/value
This study relates findings of different disciplines (health, economics, public policy) regarding pesticides, and identifies gaps for future research.
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