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This paper aims to investigate the relationships between the strategic type of cross‐border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and enterprise growth, and the moderating role of Chinese companies' organizational factors, including organizational structure, organizational experience, cultural distance and relative size.

The authors, as researchers, have mixed the strategic choice and post‐M&As integration into a comprehensive framework while building the theoretical model of “Strategic Type of Cross‐border M&As‐Organizational Factors‐Enterprise Growth” (ST‐OF‐EG). In this paper, they have empirically examined the model using hierarchical regression by analyzing 76 cross‐borders M&A events of overseas‐listed Chinese companies over the 2000‐2007 period.

The analysis shows that: related cross‐border M&As are better for enterprise growth than unrelated diversification cross‐border M&As; and among the organizational factors, studied organizational structure and organizational experience show a positive significance in terms of the relationship between the strategic type of cross‐border M&As and enterprise growth. The moderating role of cultural distance and relative size is non‐significant.

In this paper, the moderating effect of cultural distance was found to be insignificant. However, further research is encouraged.

Chinese companies should pay attention to strategic choices before cross‐border M&As. They should expand abroad to markets step by step. They should merge the companies that have the higher relevance on a product, industry or market first. On the basis of specialization, Chinese companies should make themselves stronger and then develop from specialization to proper diversification, which is a robust path to achieve enterprise growth. Besides, Chinese companies should accumulate international experience as soon as possible and organizational structure should match the strategic choice.

This paper would be immensely helpful to Chinese companies to plan their cross‐border M&As strategy in a way that would enhance growth and core‐competence.

This paper aims to propose and establish a set of new benchmark models to investigate and confidently validate the modeling and prediction of total stray-field loss inside magnetic and non-magnetic components under harmonics-direct current (HDC) hybrid excitations. As a new member-set (P21^e) of the testing electromagnetic analysis methods Problem 21 Family, the focus is on efficient analysis methods and accurate material property modeling under complex excitations.

This P21^e-based benchmarking covers the design of new benchmark models with magnetic flux compensation, the establishment of a new benchmark measurement system with HDC hybrid excitation, the formulation of the testing program (such as defined Cases I–V) and the measurement and prediction of material properties under HDC hybrid excitations, to test electromagnetic analysis methods and finite element (FE) computation models and investigate the electromagnetic behavior of typical magnetic and electromagnetic shields in electrical equipment.

The updated Problem 21 Family (V.2021) can now be used to investigate and validate the total power loss and the different shielding performance of magnetic and electromagnetic shields under various HDC hybrid excitations, including the different spatial distributions of the same excitation parameters. The new member-set (P21^e) with magnetic flux compensation can experimentally determine the total power loss inside the load-component, which helps to validate the numerical modeling and simulation with confidence. The additional iron loss inside the laminated sheets caused by the magnetic flux normal to the laminations must be correctly modeled and predicted during the design and analysis. It is also observed that the magnetic properties (B27R090) measured in the rolling and transverse directions with different direct current (DC) biasing magnetic field are quite different from each other.

The future benchmarking target is to study the effects of stronger HDC hybrid excitations on the internal loss behavior and the microstructure of magnetic load components.

This paper proposes a new extension of Problem 21 Family (1993–2021) with the upgraded excitation, involving multi-harmonics and DC bias. The alternating current (AC) and DC excitation can be applied at the two sides of the model’s load-component to avoid the adverse impact on the AC and DC power supply and investigate the effect of different AC and DC hybrid patterns on the total loss inside the load-component. The overall effectiveness of numerical modeling and simulation is highlighted and achieved via combining the efficient electromagnetic analysis methods and solvers, the reliable material property modeling and prediction under complex excitations and the precise FE computation model using partition processing. The outcome of this project will be beneficial to large-scale and high-performance numerical modeling.

In the era of climate change, industrial organizations are under increasing pressure from consumers and regulators to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of product mix as a strategy to deliver the low carbon supply chain under the cap-and-trade policy.

The authors incorporate the cap-and-trade policy into the green product mix decision models by using game-theoretic approach and compare these decisions in a decentralized model and a centralized model, respectively. The research explores potential behavioral changes under the cap-and-trade in the context of a two-echelon supply chain.

The analysis results show that the channel structure has significant impact on both economic and environmental performances. An integrated supply chain generates more profits. In contrast, a decentralized supply chain has lower carbon emissions. The cap-and-trade policy makes a different impact on the economic and environmental performances of the supply chain. Balancing the trade-offs is critical to ensure the long-term sustainability.

The research offers many interesting observations with respect to the effect of product mix strategy on operational decisions and the trade-offs between costs and carbon emissions under the cap-and-trade policy. The insights derived from the analysis not only help firms to make important operational and strategic decisions to reduce carbon emissions while maintaining their economic competitiveness, but also make meaningful contribution to governments’ policy making for carbon emissions control.

This paper aims to identify how house price affects household consumption.

The authors use a micro-level data set that tracks the house price and consumption of a vast number of households over a period of four years. OLS regression is the main econometric method.

The authors document robust evidence that an increase in house prices stimulates household consumption, regardless of whether a household owns or rents. Moreover, the authors find that both acquiring and losing homeownership negatively affects household consumption. Further investigation suggests significant regional heterogeneity in the relationship between house prices and household consumption.

This is one of the first studies examining the relationship between house price and household consumption in China using micro-level data. Given the uniqueness of the Chinese housing market and China’s fast-growing consumption rate, the study contributes new evidence to the long-lasting debate.

When smelting Al-Li alloy, the material inevitably comes into contact with various oxide-refractories. These refractories are subjected to varying degrees of melt-corrosion at high temperatures. The purpose of this study is to find stable oxide refractories at casting temperature.

Four materials were selected for evaluation, and their corrosion by the Al-Li alloy at casting temperature and different holding times was measured. Subsequently, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy were used to study the interfaces. Stable refractory materials were selected by comparing the thicknesses of the reaction layers.

The thickness of the Al-Li/ZrO₂ reaction layer varies linearly with the square root of the holding duration. Therefore, the growth of the reaction layer is controlled by diffusion. The reaction layer of Al-Li/Al₂O₃ is thinner, and its growth is also controlled by diffusion. However, there were no obvious reaction layers between the Al-Li alloy and MgO or Y₂O₃. By comparing these reaction-layer thicknesses, the order of stability was found to be ZrO₂ < Al₂O₃ < MgO and Y₂O₃.

These results provide a scientific basis for the optimal selection of refractory materials for Al-Li alloy smelting.

The purpose of this paper is to review the current research on theoretical foundations and applications for CPS from 2017 to 2019 including the applications in library.

This paper is designed in six parts as Introduction, Literature review, Theoretical foundations of CPS, Applications of CPS, CPS’s application in library and Conclusion. The authors review 70 papers and classify them as the above six parts. The authors collected 70 papers from 2017 to 2019 in the academic databases.

This paper reviews 70 papers regarding theoretical foundations and applications for CPS from 2017 to 2019 in the academic databases aiming to provide scholars and practitioners with a comprehensive overview. The contents of the papers in each research category are summarized from theoretical foundations and applications including the CPS applications in library.

A main contribution of this review paper is that it summarizes the current state-of-the-art theoretical foundations and applications for CPS and in libraries systematically.

Traditional ion optics manufacturing processes are complex and costly. The purpose of this paper is to study the feasibility of using selective laser melting (SLM) to produce additively manufactured ion optics.

An SLM machine was used to generate Ti6Al4V screen grids. The output was separated through wire cutting from the build platform and studied through a scanning electron microscope. To increase the geometrical accuracy of the original grid, samples consisting of nine-aperture arrays were fabricated with different parameter combinations, increasing the energy density. An empirical method to correlate the energy density applied in the fabrication process with the dimensional accuracy of the hole array positioning was developed through the analysis of multiple samples.

The SLM machine generated grids with optimal microstructure, the apertures fell within the specified tolerances and tolerances of slightly less than 10 µm can be guaranteed for the hole array positioning. The grids’ upper surfaces presented good-quality surface finish, and the lower surface quality was acceptable when the wire cutting process that separated the grid from the build platform performed slowly. Regardless of the build strategy, the stresses generated in the separation process caused the warping of the ion optic, so a flattening operation was necessary in all cases.

This research proved that SLM is a viable solution for ion optics fabrication, faster (less than 24 h) and less expensive (order of US$300) than traditional fabrication methods (with fabrication times from 24 to more than 400 h and costs from US$500 to US$5,000, depending on the material, size and shape).

This paper aims to investigate an efficient approach to model the electromagnetic behaviors and predict stray-field loss inside the magnetic steel plate under 3D harmonic magnetization conditions so as to effectively prevent the structural components from local overheating and insulation damage in electromagnetic devices.

An experimental setup is applied to measure all the magnetic properties of magnetic steel plate under harmonic excitations with different frequencies and phase angles. The measurement and numerical simulation are carried out based on the updated TEAM Problem 21 Model B+ (P210-B+), under the 3D harmonic magnetization conditions. An improved method to evaluate the stray-field loss is proposed, and harmonic flux distribution in the structural components is analyzed.

The influence of the harmonic order and phase angle on the stray-field loss in magnetic steel components are noteworthy. Based on the engineering-oriented benchmark models, the variations of stray-field losses and magnetic field distribution inside the magnetic components under harmonic magnetization conditions are presented and analyzed in detail.

The capacity of the multi-function harmonic source, used in this work, was not large enough, which limits the magnetization level. Up to now, further improvements to increase the harmonic source capacity and investigations of the electromagnetic behaviors of magnetic steel components under multi-harmonic and DC-AC hybrid excitations are in progress.

To accurately predict the stray-field loss in magnetic steel plate, the improved method based on the combination of magnetic measurement and numerical simulation is proposed. The effects of the frequency and phase angle on the stray-field loss are analyzed.

The purpose of this paper is to address several challenges faced by organizational management in the contemporary context, and how managers can better reply to management challenges by integrating oriental and occidental philosophy and wisdom.

The paper first describes the characteristics of the contemporary management context and identifies challenges that managers are likely to encounter. The paper then investigates how oriental and occidental philosophy and wisdom reply to these management challenges, whilst also considering the relative advantages and disadvantages of both traditions. Based on the complementarity of these two traditions, the paper finally proposes a framework that integrates both oriental and occidental wisdom by HeXie Management Theory to better respond to management challenges.

The contemporary organizational environment is characterized by four key salient components: complexity, change, ambiguity, and uncertainty (CCAU). Managers are challenged by problems of determining causality, managing holistically, and adaptation to rapid change. Western philosophical approaches to confronting management challenges arising from CCAU, inherent in the wider economic environment, emphasize standardization and rational design on the basis of science, law, and religion. Conversely, Oriental philosophical approaches to management challenges oppose such rigid systems in favour of flexibility and adaptability which emphasize harmony and morality. Essentially, whereas western thought intends to limit the occurrence of unpredicted events through the development of scientific systems, oriental thinking aims to provide a flexible and fluid system which absorbs the effects of CCAU, thus limiting and using its impact. These two perspectives both have their own advantages and disadvantages when facing management challenges in the context of CCAU. By integrating these two complementary approaches, the authors propose HeXie Management Theory (HXMT). HXMT establishes a clear vision and mission to direct the development of organizations; to organize an integrated management system through the HeXie Theme and HeXie Coupling, and to apply the component “He Principle” and “Xie Principle” as basic mechanisms to cope with management challenges.

This study contributes to research on relationships between organizations and environment by providing a holistic analysis, and adds knowledge about how to reply to management challenges by constructing ambidextrous organizations based on HeXie Management Theory.

To improve the high-temperature wear properties of the SiCp/A359 composite, foamed iron-reinforced SiCp/A359 composite (A359–SiCp/Fe) is prepared. The purpose of this study is to investigate the tribological behavior and mechanism of the A359–SiCp/Fe composites at different temperatures (100–500 °C) and loads (7 N, 10 N and 12 N).

The A359–SiCp/Fe composite was fabricated by vacuum-assisted infiltration. The dry sliding tribological behaviors of A359–SiCp/Fe composite were investigated using the ball-on-disc-type tribometer. The worn surface and wear morphology of the longitudinal section were examined using field emission scanning electron microscopy and metallographic microscope.

The critical transition temperature for severe wear in A359–SiCp/Fe composite was 50–100 °C higher than in SiCp/A359 composite. Foamed iron prevents exfoliation cracks from penetrating deeper into the matrix. The friction coefficient stability of the A359–SiCp/Fe composite was higher than the unreinforced composite at elevated temperatures. With the increase in temperature, the friction-affected layer was severely worn, and the wear mechanism transferred from abrasion and delamination to oxidation and plastic flow, respectively.

The preparation procedure for aluminum matrix composites reinforced with foamed metal has been less reported, and the research on the tribological behavior and mechanism of A359–SiCp/Fe composite at various temperatures is insufficient. The foamed iron structure considerably enhances the wear properties of SiCp/A359 composite in elevated temperature conditions.