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The purpose of this paper is to propose an effective and efficient solution method for the component allocation problem (CAP) in printed circuit board (PCB) assembly, in order to achieve high‐throughput rates of the PCB assembly lines.

The investigated CAP is intertwined with the machine optimization problems for each machine in the line because the latter determine the process time of each machine. In order to solve the CAP, a solution method, which integrates a meta‐heuristic (genetic algorithm) and a regression model is proposed.

It is found that the established regression model can estimate the process time of each machine accurately and efficiently. Experimental tests show that the proposed solution method can solve the CAP both effectively and efficiently.

Although different regression models are required for different types of assembly machines, the proposed solution method can be adopted for solving the CAPs for assembly lines of any configuration, including a mixed‐vendor assembly line.

The solution method can ensure a high‐throughput rate of a PCB assembly line, and thus improve the production capacity without further investment on the expensive PCB assembly equipment.

The paper proposes an innovative solution method for the CAP in PCB assembly. The solution method integrates the meta‐heuristic method and the regression method, which has not been studied in the literature.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the optimization for a placement machine in printed circuit board (PCB) assembly when family setup strategy is adopted.

A complete mathematical model is developed for the integrated problem to optimize feeder arrangement and component placement sequences so as to minimize the makespan for a set of PCB batches. Owing to the complexity of the problem, a specific genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed.

The established model is able to find the minimal makespan for a set of PCB batches through determining the feeder arrangement and placement sequences. However, exact solutions to the problem are not practical due to the complexity. Experimental tests show that the proposed GA can solve the problem both effectively and efficiently.

When a placement machine is set up for production of a set of PCB batches, the feeder arrangement of the machine together with the component placement sequencing for each PCB type should be solved simultaneously so as to minimize the overall makespan.

The paper investigates the optimization for PCB assembly with family setup strategy, which is adopted by many PCB manufacturers for reducing both setup costs and human errors.

The paper investigates the feeder arrangement and placement sequencing problems when family setup strategy is adopted, which has not been studied in the literature.

Though certain characteristics of micro-firms affect the likelihood of their participation in external relationships, how cooperation in craft enterprises differs from low and high-tech enterprises has not been investigated yet. Therefore, this study aims to fill the above gap in the literature.

This study adopts a descriptive approach by extensively reviewing relevant literature to explore the unique characteristics and nature of micro-firm's co-operative behavior. The theoretical approach of this research is grounded in resource-based view and dynamic capabilities theories.

This study finds that handicraft micro-firms possess special and unique characteristics that differentiate them from low- and high-tech firms. Further, handicraft micro-firms' co-operative behavior also differs from other firms in terms of cooperation motives, breadth, depth and factors that inhibit or promote cooperation. Additionally, in small handicraft firms, the co-operation is more informal, personal and through social networks, whereas in the corporate sector, it is more formal, direct and through supply chains. This study also argues that contrary to handicraft and low-tech firms, high-tech firms are more likely to cooperate with external partners and invest heavily in R&D for new product development (often radical in nature).

This study enriches our understanding of handicraft micro-firms' special and unique characteristics that differentiate them from low- and high-tech micro-firms. This research also provides in-depth knowledge to understand the handicraft micro-firms’ co-operative behavior and how it differs from low- and high-tech firms.

Risk perception is an essential factor affecting how individuals evaluate risk, make decisions and behave. The impact of risk perception on customer purchase behavior has been widely studied; however, the association has been debated. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between risk perception and customer purchase behavior and to examine factors that could moderate it.

This study conducted a meta-analysis of this relationship and examined factors that could moderate it. Six databases were comprehensively searched. Two reviewers independently selected the studies for inclusion, extracted data and assessed quality. Pearson's r was used as the effect estimate. A total of 33 studies were included in the meta-analysis.

The results revealed a negative relationship between risk perception and customer purchase behavior. The geographical region, purchase channel and country development level affected the relationship. The correlation between perceived risk and purchase behavior in European consumers was the highest, followed by the correlation in American consumers; the weakest correlation was found in Asian consumers. For consumers in developed countries, perceived risk had a stronger negative influence on customer purchase behavior than that for consumers in developing countries. The perceived risk of online purchase channels had a stronger negative impact on customer purchase behavior than that of offline purchase channels.

Risk perception is a useful context in which to explain barriers to customer purchase behavior. In addition, reducing consumers’ risk perception and perfecting the market transaction process with respect to buying behavior should be further studied.

The findings of this review indicate a direct negative relationship between risk perception and customer purchase behavior. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this review is the first to meta-analytically summarize the impact of risk perception on customer purchase behavior in social sciences research, and it also illuminates new perspectives for future studies.

As two essential styles of firm decision-making, the relationships among effectuation logic, causation logic and firm performance are unclear. It is helpful to deepen the understanding of reasoning theory and the process of decision-making. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between effectuation logic, causation logic and firm performance.

Based on 31 independent empirical studies (including 11,600 samples) published by predecessors, meta-analysis is used to systematically integrate the impact of two decision-making styles on firm performance and explore the potential factors affecting their relationship.

The results show a positive correlation between two decision-making styles and firm performance and the influence of effectuation decision-making style in firm performance is slightly stronger. However, the application environment is different: in the emerging market, the causation decision-making style is more effective for firm performance management. When the firm chooses the effectuation decision-making style, it is more effective for performance management in the emerging market. In addition, the industry type, firm performance evaluation tools, national development level and firm scale and firm age can significantly moderate the impact of two decision-making styles on firm performance.

Both decision-making logics are possible ways for firm to success. Still, the future needs to dig deeper into the black box that can unlock the decision-making styles to achieve firm performance or competitive advantage based on other factors of the decision-behavior-outcome business model, more longitudinal data and experiments.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore the impact of decision-making styles (effectuation logic and causation logic) on firm performance using a meta-analysis.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the pay gap between the management and ordinary employees influence corporate technology innovation.

This study built a tournament model based on inventor innovation and career promotion. In addition, the authors use IV-GMM estimation method to address the possible endogeneity issue in the regressions.

Based on the unbalanced panel data of patents and pay gap in 1,501 Chinese listed manufacturing firms during 2001-2015, this paper finds that the pay gap could lead inventor innovation and improve technology innovation. The pay gap could encourage corporate innovation significantly: 1 percent increase in pay gap may increase the number of patents by 2 percent in the next year. The pay gap between the management and ordinary employees facilitates corporate innovation via two possible channels. First, inventor innovation and career promotion. Inventors are selected into the management mainly based on their innovation output. The larger the pay gap, the more innovation incentives and patents would gain. Second, investment increase in technology innovation. The pay gap and more patents that inventors gain would increase the ratio of inventors promoted to the management, who tend to pour more resources into R&D activities and absorb more inventors to the management due to their sectionalism and R&D preference. The above two channels constitute a positive feedback mechanism among technology innovation, inventor promotion and increase in R&D investment.

This paper highlights that pay gap between the management and ordinary employees is an important issue that could encourage corporate innovation. The conclusions imply that pay gap could encourage inventors to work hard and produce more patents, which could help them to enter into the management such as executives or directors.

This study contributes to the current literature by implying that pay gap could have positive effects on innovation through theoretical and empirical analysis. Also, this study finds that inventor promotion due to the pay gap is a critical channel to stimulate corporate technology innovation.

Based on self-consistency theory and conservation of resource theory, this study aims to discuss the impact of career calling congruence on employees’ innovation performance (IP) and analyzes the mediating effect of work passion [harmonious passion (HP) and obsessive passion (OP)].

To avoid serious common method biases, data in this paper were collected at three-wave. This paper investigated 381 employees to assess their career calling in time 1, measured their work passion in time 2 and assessed the IP of these employees in time 3. This paper also conducts confirmatory factor analysis, polynomial regression, response surface analysis, bootstrapping test and simple slope test to verify the research hypothesis in this paper.

In the career calling congruence case, employees’ HP, OP and IP are higher when both levels of serving oneself career calling and helping others career calling are high than when both are low; In the career calling incongruence case, employees’ HP, OP and IP are higher in the “low serving oneself and high helping others” case than in the “high serving oneself and low helping others” case; The more congruent the “serving oneself” and “helping others” career calling are, the higher the employees’ HP, OP and IP will be; and HP and OP mediate the relationship between career calling congruence and IP.

This study further clarifies the structure of career calling and find the positive effects of career calling on IP. The results present a deeper understanding of career calling and are universal applicable to the eastern culture context.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the L^p‐maximal regularity for the abstract incomplete second order problem.

First, the paper gives the definition of the L^p‐maximal regularity for incomplete second‐order Cauchy problems and lists their basic properties based on Chill and Srivastava's recent work for completing second order problem. Second, the paper establishes its characterization by means of Fourier multiplier and the operator‐sum theorem. Finally, it considers an application to quasilinear systems by the regularity and linearization techniques.

Two criteria of L^p‐maximal regularity are obtained, and the existence of the local solution for the second order quasilinear problem is given. In addition, the connection on maximal regularity between second order problems with initial values and that with periodic problems is investigated. A perturbation result is given.

The maximal regularity is an important tool in the theory of non‐linear differential equations. The results obtained in this paper are universal because the operator is not necessarily the generator of a cosine operator function. Using this unifying approach it is possible to clarify the L^p‐maximal regularity and the existence of the solution for some systems described by partial differential equations, such as wave equations.