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The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test a conceptual framework to analyze how inter-organizational knowledge sharing facilitates enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation.

Data were collected from a 2014 survey on 283 Chinese companies. Structural equation modeling was used to test the structural model of the framework.

The results of the study indicated that organizational preparedness (in terms of internal culture, organizational structure, availability of resources, and technological capabilities), positive benefits and costs perception, and external influences (in terms of environmental uncertainty, competitive pressure, and partner readiness) would facilitate inter-organizational knowledge sharing, which in turn, would enhance ERP implementation effectiveness.

Convenience samples from an author’s MBA classes were used in the survey, and a single respondent from each organization answering all questions for such complicated issues also posed the risk of measurement bias and inaccuracy.

The study provided evidences to practitioners about how organizations should collaborate with supply chain partners at a full scale in knowledge generation, maintenance, dissemination, and application in order to enhance their effectiveness on ERP implementation.

ERP projects are predominately observed in existing research as internal initiatives that companies take independently within their own organizational boundaries. This study represents one of the early large-scale empirical efforts to investigate ERP implementation from an inter-firm supply chain collaboration perspective. Additional contribution includes some interesting empirical evidences on the current state of ERP utilization in the Chinese market.

Currently, there is a dearth of research studies regarding macro analysis of the workforce productivity of the US construction industry. The purpose of this paper is to calculate the workforce productivity changes of the US construction industry from 2006 to 2016, with the number of laborers as input and value of construction industry as output.

The present study introduced the data envelopment analysis (DEA) based Malmquist productivity index model to measure the workforce productivity of the US construction industry from 2006 to 2016.

The results indicated that the workforce productivity of the US construction industry experienced a continuous decline, except for the increases from 2011 to 2013 and from 2014 to 2015. It was also shown that there were gaps in the workforce productivity development level among all states and nine regions in the US construction industry. Besides, the relationship between workforce productivity and four aspects, including real estate price, workforce, climate distribution and economic factors, was analyzed.

The calculation of the productivity of the US construction industry is based on the premise that the external environment is fixed and unchanged from 2006 to 2016, but the multi-level DEA model for further calculation is required for obtaining more effective conclusions.

This paper measures the workforce productivity of the US construction industry over the past 11 years, which added latest analysis and knowledge into the construction industry, providing decision-makers with advice and data support to formulate policies to improve workforce productivity.

This study provided both government decision-makers and industrial practitioners with important macro background environment information, which will facilitate the improvement of workforce productivity in the construction industry in different regions of the US.

This study aims to analyze the wettability of the self-developed Sn–Bi–Zn solder and to conduct a series of analysis on the wetting kinetics, diffusion phenomenon and interfacial reaction of Sn–Bi–Zn solder on Cu substrate.

The wetting kinetics, diffusion phenomenon and interfacial reaction of Sn–Bi–Zn solder on Cu substrate were analyzed by experiments. The interface was observed by scanning electron microscope to study the effect of Zn content on its interface.

With the increase in brazing temperature, the final spreading equivalent radius of the solder increases significantly, and the final contact angle of the solder decreases significantly. In addition, when the Zn content is 1%, the spreading effect of solder is the best, the equivalent radius is the largest and the contact angle is the smallest. According to the microstructural analysis, the thick intermetallic compounds layer of the Sn–15Bi–xZn solders on the Cu substrate can be effectively decreased by adding appropriate Zn content.

The wetting kinetics, diffusion phenomenon and interfacial reaction of Sn–15Bi–xZn solder on Cu substrate at different temperatures have not been studied yet.

Prosocial lending in online crowdfunding has flourished in recent years, and it has become a new way to fundraise for philanthropy. However, there is almost a 70% user attrition rate in crowdfunding. The purpose of this study is to understand what the lender’s lending experience and social connection influence lender retention of online prosocial lending from a self-determination perspective.

Drawing on self-determination theory (SDT), this research utilizes a quantifiable method for factors of the lender's lending experience and social connection. Additionally, the research constructs economic models to explore the impacts of these factors acting as the necessary conditions for basic psychological needs on lender retention, using a large-scale sample of over 380,000 lenders from Kiva.

The results indicate that, from the lender's lending experience aspect, the loan narratives with more profit language in the last lending and the failure of past participation are negatively related to lender retention. Regarding the lender's social connection aspect, their friends or small lending teams are positively related to lender retention, while whether they are invited and lending team size show negative influence. Furthermore, results indicate the moderating effects of the disclosure of lending motivation.

This research explores the mechanism of lender retention of online prosocial lending, providing a self-determination perspective about how previous experience influences long-term lending behavior. The study offers significant implications for the literature on online philanthropy, SDT and user retention of online platforms. At the same time, the study provides an understanding of the effects of different aspects of SDT.

From the perspective of the economic theory of complementarity, the purpose of this paper is to examine how internal collaboration and external competencies would provoke and strengthen each other, and subsequently enhance organizational innovation capability.

The survey data were collected from 201 manufacturing firms and checked for common method variance, validity and reliability. Structural equation modeling was then used to test the hypothetical complementarity effect.

The results suggest that internal collaboration (as a manifestation of exploitative learning) and external competencies, which include supply network flexibility and supplier operational capabilities (as manifestation of exploratory learning), do in fact compensate for each other’s deficiencies. Complementary deployment of internal collaboration and external competencies enhances each other’s contribution to innovation capability. Practically, the study indicates that organizations should consider making concerted efforts to develop internal collaboration, supply network flexibility and supplier operational capability as a bundle.

Extensive discussions exist in the literature on exploration and exploitation being essential components of innovation and their conflicting impact on innovation efficiency and effectiveness. But how an organization should operationally develop supply chain competencies in order to maximize overall innovation capability still remains largely an unanswered question. The current study advances the research on the inter-relationships between exploration and exploitation by empirically demonstrating the complementary nature of internal collaboration and external competencies in developing sustainable innovation capabilities.

Oil-free heat pumps that use the system refrigerant gases as lubricants are preferred for thermal management in future space applications. This study aims to numerically and experimentally investigate the static performance of externally pressurized thrust bearings lubricated with refrigerant gases.

The refrigerant gases R22, R410A and CO₂ were chosen as the research objects, while N₂ was used for comparison. Computational fluid dynamics was used to solve the full 3 D Navier–Stokes equations to determine the load capacity, static stiffness and static pressure distribution in the bearing film. The numerical results were experimentally verified.

The results showed that the refrigerant-gas-lubricated thrust bearings had a lower load capacity than the N2-lubricated bearings, but they presented a higher static stiffness when the bearing clearance was less than 9 µm. Compared with the N2-lubricated bearings, the optimal static stiffness of the R22- and CO2-lubricated bearings increased by more than 46% and more than 21%, respectively. The numerical and experimental results indicate that a small bearing clearance would be preferable when designing externally pressurized gas thrust bearings lubricated with the working medium of heat pump systems for space applications.

The findings of this study can serve as a basis for the further investigation of refrigerant gases as lubricants in heat pump systems, as well as for the future design of such gas bearings in heat pump systems for space applications.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of environmental characteristics, business partnership relationship, knowledge complementarity, organizational characteristics on knowledge management practices and innovation performance.

The research used primary data, i.e. data obtained directly from the distribution of questionnaires to respondents, namely, the company’s managers/leaders/directors in the companies that became the research sample. Data were collected by sending questionnaires either by mail or email to the respondents. To examine the effect of environmental characteristics, business partnership relationship, knowledge complementarity and organizational characteristics on knowledge management practices and innovation performance.

Environmental characteristics, business partnership relationship, knowledge complementarity and organizational characteristics partially have a significant effect on knowledge management practices. Environmental characteristics and business partnership relationship partially have a significant effect on innovation performance, while knowledge complementarity and organizational characteristics have no significant effect. For other constructs, knowledge management practices are able to be a moderator variable, which can relate these constructs with innovation performance.

The research using the diffusion of innovation paradigm, the combination of market-based and knowledge-based paradigms is expected to fill the previous research gap and become the first uniqueness and originality, as well as characteristic of this research. The second originality is this research examines the role of the knowledge management practice variable as the moderator variable. Then, the third originality is this research investigates the relationship between business partner relationship and innovation performance. These three originalities are still rarely studied in previous studies, so this research will further complement, expand the study, especially in the knowledge management, innovation performance area.

The purpose of this paper is to develop an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method in safety risk assessment on communication system based on satellite constellations through constructing safety risk index system.

An empirical study using the AHP was carried out to find the relative weights of those assessment criterion and sub‐objectives of subsystem. Then the risk scores of 15 sub‐objectives and four subsystems were calculated applying the AHP method according to the assessment result of experts.

According to the overall results from the estimation of experts the safety risk priority of net application is the highest and the safety risk priority of attack on physical equipment is the lowest. This explained that the possibility of a war in today's era, in which peace and development is the theme is very small, and risk prevention should focus more on the defense of network attacks from enemies.

This paper provides a positive analysis of safety risk for a communication system based on satellite constellations and gives an opinion in accordance with the assessment result.

An AHP method was applied in the security risk assessment of communications systems on satellite constellation and the estimation of facing risk situation of the satellite communication system was presented according to the opinion of experts.

The purpose of this paper is to explore why and how to involve community stakeholders to achieve sustainability in heritage tourism operations.

A conceptual model and three propositions are created based on stakeholder theory and the social capital perspective.

The study highlights the challenges facing heritage tourism operators and recommends that these organizations focus on inter-stakeholder group collaboration, participative decision making, responsibility and benefits sharing, and building an institutional power structure to involve hosting communities for sustainable operations.

Instead of approaching from the traditional philosophic perspective at the overall societal level, community involvement is studied at individual organizational level to provide more specific recommendations on how tourism companies can empower and involve community stakeholders.

This is one of the first studies to synthesize the constructs of organizational motivation, community empowerment, community involvement, and sustainable tourism operations in an integrated model to explore their relationships.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test a framework analyzing the relationship of collaborative knowledge management practices (CKMP) with supply chain integration and supply chain knowledge quality.

The design of the study is based on a survey of 411 firms from eight manufacturing industries that are actively involved in inter‐firm knowledge management practices with supply chain partners. First a measurement instrument for CKMP was statistically validated with confirmatory factor analysis. Then the structural equation modeling (SEM) path analysis was used to assess the structural relationship of CKMP with supply chain knowledge quality and supply chain integration.

The study found that engagement in CKMP can lead to better integration between supply chain partners and increased organizational knowledge quality.

The study was conducted at the firm level for activities involving inter‐firm knowledge sharing. Some measurement inaccuracy might be generated with a single respondent from each organization answering questions about both supply chain management issues and knowledge management‐related issues.

By identifying collaborative knowledge generation, storage, access, dissemination and application as the major components of CKMP, this study advises organizations on how to collaborate with partner firms on sharing supply chain knowledge. CKMP's positive relationship with knowledge quality and supply chain integration provides organizations with practice‐related motivation for engaging in collaborative knowledge management and alerts them to the possibility of other potential benefits from it.

As one of the first large‐scale empirical efforts to systematically investigate collaborative knowledge management processes in a supply chain management context, this paper can be used as basis for enhanced homological understanding of this domain, by exploring antecedents and consequences of collaborative knowledge management.