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Article
Publication date: 29 September 2023

Dong Zhou and Wenwen Wang

This paper aims to conduct research to examine the impact of Internet adoption on the productivity of firms in non-urban China.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to conduct research to examine the impact of Internet adoption on the productivity of firms in non-urban China.

Design/methodology/approach

The study investigates the impact of Internet adoption on firms' productivity in non-urban China. More specifically, the authors conduct a comprehensive and rigorous study while addressing concerns related to firm-level endogeneity by utilizing firm-level panel data. Information on firms in non-urban areas is collected from China's Annual Surveys of Industrial Firm data. For robustness, the authors implement the instrumental variables approach and propensity score matching estimations to strengthen the evidence for suggestive causal inference. Furthermore, the authors also examine the mechanisms and group heterogeneity.

Findings

Evidence indicate that the adoption of Internet technology positively impacts the total factor productivity (TFP) of firms in non-urban areas. According to the heterogeneity analysis, the marginal effect of Internet adoption is more significant and pronounced for labor-intensive, private and small-scale manufacturing firms. Moreover, additional evidence suggest that Internet adoption is beneficial for non-urban firms in expanding their business and enlarging their market. It has also been found that the positive effect of Internet adoption on firms' TFP is amplified by expanding public infrastructure.

Originality/value

The current study supports that the informatization strategy benefits non-urban firms and promotes rural revitalization. The findings suggest the possibility of firms borrowing market size from the closest cities and supporting the ongoing policies of investing in broadband infrastructure to narrow the urban-rural digital gap in China.

Details

China Agricultural Economic Review, vol. 15 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-137X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2023

Yunhao Zhang, Chunlei Shao, Jing Kong, Junwei Zhou and Jianfeng Zhou

This paper aims to prevent gasket sealing failure in engineering, accurately predict gasket life, extend system life and improve sealing reliability. The accelerated life test…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to prevent gasket sealing failure in engineering, accurately predict gasket life, extend system life and improve sealing reliability. The accelerated life test method of flexible graphite composite–reinforced gaskets is established, the life distribution law of flexible graphite composite–reinforced gaskets is revealed, and the life prediction method of flexible graphite composite–reinforced gaskets with different allowable leakage rates is proposed, which can provide a reference for the life prediction of other types of gaskets.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, flexible graphite composite–reinforced gaskets were tested for long-term high-temperature sealing performance on a multi-sample gasket accelerated life test rig. The data were also analyzed using the least squares method and the K-S hypothesis calibration method. A gasket time-dependent leakage model and an accelerated life model were also developed. Constant stress-accelerated life tests were conducted on flexible graphite composite–reinforced gaskets. On this basis, a gasket life prediction method at different allowable leakage rates was proposed.

Findings

The life distribution law of flexible graphite composite–reinforced gaskets is revealed. The results show that the life of the gasket obeys the Weibull distribution. The time-correlated leakage model and accelerated life model of the gasket were established. And the accelerated life test method of the flexible graphite composite–reinforced gasket was established. The life distribution parameters, accelerated life model parameters and life estimates of gaskets were obtained through tests. On this basis, a gasket life prediction method under different leakage rates was proposed, which can be used as a reference for other types of gaskets.

Practical implications

The research in this paper can better provide guidance for the use and replacement of gaskets in the project, which is also very meaningful for predicting the leakage condition of gaskets in the bolted flange connection system and taking corresponding control measures to reduce energy waste and pollution and ensure the safe operation of industrial equipment.

Originality/value

A multi-specimen gasket-accelerated life test device has been developed, and the design parameters of the device have reached the international advanced level. The life distribution law of the flexible graphite composite–reinforced gasket was revealed. The accelerated life test method for the flexible graphite composite–reinforced gasket was established. The life prediction method of the flexible graphite composite–reinforced gasket under different allowable leakage rates was proposed.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-08-2023-0254/

Details

Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, vol. 76 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0036-8792

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 July 2023

Cassandra L.C. Troy, Megan L.P. Norman, Nicholas Eng, Jason Freeman and Denise S. Bortree

The purpose of this experimental study is to examine the effects of climate change corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate social advocacy (CSA) messages on public…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this experimental study is to examine the effects of climate change corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate social advocacy (CSA) messages on public perceptions of companies and collective action intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs a 2 (message type: CSA vs CSR) × 2 (environmental issue: single-use plastics vs renewable energy) × 2 (company: Target vs Walmart) plus control online experimental design.

Findings

There were no main effects of message type on outcomes; however, green consumer identity moderated the relationship between message type and green purchase intention as well as negative word-of-mouth.

Originality/value

This study responds to calls by scholars to empirically compare the effects of CSR and CSA messages. Additionally, we consider group-level processes, like ingroup identity, in influencing strategic communication outcomes.

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 28 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-3289

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 August 2023

Yuchen Xi, Qinying Wang, Xiaofang Luo, Xingshou Zhang, Tingyao Liu, Huaibei Zheng, Lijin Dong, Jie Wang and Jin Zhang

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect Ti on stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and flow accelerated stress corrosion cracking (FA-SCC) behavior and mechanisms of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect Ti on stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and flow accelerated stress corrosion cracking (FA-SCC) behavior and mechanisms of Monel K500 alloy.

Design/methodology/approach

Monel K500 alloy with different Ti contents was designed. A metallurgical microscope (XJP-3C) and scanning electron microscopy (EV0 MA15 Zeiss) with an energy dispersive spectroscopy were used to analyze the microstructure of the Monel K500 alloy. In situ electrochemical tests were carried out in static and flowing seawater to study FA-SCC behavior.

Findings

The number of TiCN particles in the alloy increased as the increase of Ti content. The static corrosion and SCC of Monel K500 alloy are reduced as the content of Ti increases. Generally, the SCC of alloys was caused by the synergistic effect of the anodic dissolution at exposed metal matrix and the pit corrosion of metal matrix adjacent to TiCN particles, which was further accelerated by flowing.

Originality/value

The corrosion behavior and mechanism of Monel K500 alloy with different Ti contents in a complex flowing seawater environment are still unclear, which remain systematic study to insure the safe service of the alloy.

Details

Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, vol. 70 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0003-5599

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 May 2023

Jing Jiang, Yuan Yuan, Yanan Dong and Huijuan Dong

This study aims to examine the joint impact of customer mistreatment (external stressor) and team performance pressure (internal stressor) on employees’ proactive customer service…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the joint impact of customer mistreatment (external stressor) and team performance pressure (internal stressor) on employees’ proactive customer service performance (PCSP) using the stressor-emotion model.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample consisted of 220 employees and 54 branch leaders from a large restaurant chain in China. This study conducted a multi-time and multi-source design study using Mplus 7.4 to examine the hypotheses.

Findings

Customer mistreatment has a positive effect on employees’ emotional exhaustion, which further reduces PCSP. Team performance pressure strengthens the dysfunctional effect of customer mistreatment on emotional exhaustion, whereas leaders’ positive affective presence mitigates the negative relationship between emotional exhaustion and PCSP.

Originality/value

This study investigates how internal and external stressors jointly affect employees’ PCSP. Thus, it provides a comprehensive perspective of employee stress management and active service management for organization managers.

研究目的

基于压力源-情绪模型, 本研究旨在了解客户不当对待(外部压力源)和团队绩效压力(内部压力源)如何共同影响员工的主动对客服务绩效。

设计/方法/方法

我们的样本来自中国一家大型连锁餐厅的220名员工和54名分店负责人。我们进行了多时间和多来源设计, 并采用Mplus 7.4检验所有假设。

研究结果

客户不当对待会导致员工情绪衰竭, 进而降低主动对客服务绩效。团队绩效压力加强了客户不当对待对员工情绪衰竭的消极影响,而领导者积极情感体现可以减弱员工情绪衰竭对其员工主动对客服务绩效的负面影响。

原创性

本文的贡献是全面探讨内部和外部压力源如何共同影响员工的主动对客服务绩效, 从而为组织管理者提供一个更全面的员工压力管理和主动服务管理的视角。

Objetivo

Este estudio examina el impacto conjunto de los abusos de los clientez (estresor externo) y la presión sobre el rendimiento del equipo (estresor interno) en el rendimiento proactivo del servicio al cliente (PCSP) de los empleados utilizando el modelo estresor-emoción.

Diseño/metodología/enfoque

Nuestra muestra está formada por 220 empleados y 54 jefes de establecimientos pertenecientes a una gran cadena de restaurantes de China. Realizamos un diseño multitemporal y multifuente con Mplus 7.4 para examinar todas las hipótesis.

Resultados

Los abusos de los clientes tienen un efecto positivo sobre el agotamiento emocional de los empleados, lo que reduce aún más la PCSP. La presión sobre el rendimiento del equipo refuerza el efecto disfuncional del abuso de los clientes sobre el agotamiento emocional, mientras que la presencia afectiva positiva de los líderes mitiga la relación negativa entre el agotamiento emocional y la PCSP.

Originalidad/valor

Este artículo contribuye a investigar cómo los factores estresantes internos y externos afectan conjuntamente a la PCSP de los empleados. Proporciona una perspectiva más completa de la gestión del estrés de los empleados y de la gestión activa de los servicios para los directivos de las organizaciones.

Article
Publication date: 4 November 2022

Laiming Yu, Yaqin Fu and Yubing Dong

The purpose of this study is to investigate the thermomechanical condition on the shape memory property of Polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT). PBAT is a widely…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the thermomechanical condition on the shape memory property of Polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT). PBAT is a widely researched and rapidly developed biodegradable copolyester. In a tensile test, we found that the fractured PBAT samples had a heat-driven shape memory effect which piqued our interest, and it will lay a foundation for the application of PBAT in new fields (such as heat shrinkable film).

Design/methodology/approach

The shape memory effect of PBAT and the effect of the thermomechanical condition on its shape memory property were confirmed and systematically investigated by a thermal mechanical analyzer and tensile machine.

Findings

The results showed that the PBAT film had broad shape memory transform temperature and exhibited excellent thermomechanical stability and shape memory properties. The shape memory fixity ratio (Rf) of the PBAT films was increased with the prestrain temperature and prestrain, where the highest Rf exceeded 90%. The shape memory recovery ratio (Rr) of the PBAT films was increased with the shape memory recovery temperature and decreased with the prestrain value, and the highest Rr was almost 100%. Moreover, the PBAT films had high shape memory recovery stress which increased with the prestrain value and decreased with the prestrain temperature, and the highest shape memory recovery stress can reach 7.73 MPa.

Research limitations/implications

The results showed that PBAT had a broad shape memory transform temperature, exhibited excellent thermomechanical stability and shape memory performance, especially for the sample programmed at high temperature and had a larger prestrian, which will provide a reference for the design, processing and application of PBAT-based heat shrinkable film and smart materials.

Originality/value

This study confirmed and systematically investigated the shape memory effect of PBAT and the effect of the thermomechanical condition on the shape memory property of PBAT.

Details

Pigment & Resin Technology, vol. 53 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0369-9420

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 February 2023

Riju Bhattacharya, Naresh Kumar Nagwani and Sarsij Tripathi

A community demonstrates the unique qualities and relationships between its members that distinguish it from other communities within a network. Network analysis relies heavily on…

Abstract

Purpose

A community demonstrates the unique qualities and relationships between its members that distinguish it from other communities within a network. Network analysis relies heavily on community detection. Despite the traditional spectral clustering and statistical inference methods, deep learning techniques for community detection have grown in popularity due to their ease of processing high-dimensional network data. Graph convolutional neural networks (GCNNs) have received much attention recently and have developed into a potential and ubiquitous method for directly detecting communities on graphs. Inspired by the promising results of graph convolutional networks (GCNs) in analyzing graph structure data, a novel community graph convolutional network (CommunityGCN) as a semi-supervised node classification model has been proposed and compared with recent baseline methods graph attention network (GAT), GCN-based technique for unsupervised community detection and Markov random fields combined with graph convolutional network (MRFasGCN).

Design/methodology/approach

This work presents the method for identifying communities that combines the notion of node classification via message passing with the architecture of a semi-supervised graph neural network. Six benchmark datasets, namely, Cora, CiteSeer, ACM, Karate, IMDB and Facebook, have been used in the experimentation.

Findings

In the first set of experiments, the scaled normalized average matrix of all neighbor's features including the node itself was obtained, followed by obtaining the weighted average matrix of low-dimensional nodes. In the second set of experiments, the average weighted matrix was forwarded to the GCN with two layers and the activation function for predicting the node class was applied. The results demonstrate that node classification with GCN can improve the performance of identifying communities on graph datasets.

Originality/value

The experiment reveals that the CommunityGCN approach has given better results with accuracy, normalized mutual information, F1 and modularity scores of 91.26, 79.9, 92.58 and 70.5 per cent, respectively, for detecting communities in the graph network, which is much greater than the range of 55.7–87.07 per cent reported in previous literature. Thus, it has been concluded that the GCN with node classification models has improved the accuracy.

Details

Data Technologies and Applications, vol. 57 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9288

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 30 January 2024

Sarah Marschlich and Laura Bernet

Corporations are confronted with growing demands to take a stand on socio-political issues, i.e. corporate social advocacy (CSA), which affects their reputation in the public…

Abstract

Purpose

Corporations are confronted with growing demands to take a stand on socio-political issues, i.e. corporate social advocacy (CSA), which affects their reputation in the public. Companies use different CSA message strategies, including calling the public to support and act on the issue they advocate. Using reactance theory, the authors investigate the impact of CSA messages with a call to action on corporate reputation in the case of a company's gender equality initiative.

Design/methodology/approach

A one-factorial (CSA message with or without a call to action) between-subjects experiment was conducted by surveying 172 individuals living in Switzerland. The CSA messages were created in the context of gender equality.

Findings

The authors' study indicates that CSA messages with a call to action compared to those without overall harmed corporate reputation due to individuals' reactance, which is higher for CSA messages with a call to action, negatively affecting corporate reputation. The impact of the CSA message strategy with a call to action on corporate reputation remains significant after controlling for issue alignment and political leaning.

Originality/value

Communicating about socio-political issues, especially taking a stand, is a significant challenge for corporations in an increasingly polarized society and has often led to backlash, boycotts and damage to corporate reputation. This study shows that the possible adverse effects of advocating for socio-political issues can be related to reactance. It emphasizes that companies advocating for contested issues must be more cautious about the message strategy than the issue itself.

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 29 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-3289

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 March 2023

Xueying Zhang and Ziyuan Zhou

Employing cognitive dissonance theory, this study examines how consumers’ preexisting attitudes toward an issue, value involvement with the issue and consumer-company…

Abstract

Purpose

Employing cognitive dissonance theory, this study examines how consumers’ preexisting attitudes toward an issue, value involvement with the issue and consumer-company identification (CCI) influence their reactions to corporate social advocacy (CSA) through cognitive dissonance.

Design/methodology/approach

Study 1 conducted a 2 (CSA position: pro vs anti) × 3 (preexisting issue attitude: pro vs neutral vs anti) online quasi-experiment. The CSA messages were created in the context of same-sex marriage(s). Study 2 tested the hypotheses using an online survey in the context of gun control.

Findings

The results indicated that a conflict between consumers’ preexisting attitudes and a corporation’s stance on a controversial issue led to cognitive dissonance, which further led to consumers’ perceptions of the corporation being biased in both studies. Study 1 and Study 2 suggested a mixed effect of cognitive dissonance on participants’ inclination to disidentify with the corporation. Preexisting CCI appeared to have a direct negative influence on cognitive dissonance; however, value involvement and preexisting CCI were not found to significantly enhance the influence of consumers’ attitudes toward CSA on cognitive dissonance.

Originality/value

The study first extended the theoretical discussion of cognitive dissonance to a trendy strategic communication context. The results help public relations practitioners to better understand the segmented public groups and the risk of taking a stance on controversial issues.

Details

Journal of Communication Management, vol. 27 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-254X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 November 2023

Mengxia Du, Qiao Wang, Yan Zhang, Yu Bai, Chunqiu Wei and Chunyan Liu

As to different angles of attack and nonlinear problems caused by high temperatures in coexisting hypersonic aircraft, people mainly rely on fluid software for research but lack…

Abstract

Purpose

As to different angles of attack and nonlinear problems caused by high temperatures in coexisting hypersonic aircraft, people mainly rely on fluid software for research but lack analysis of flow mechanisms. Owing to computational difficulties, few people use numerical algorithms to combine them for discussion. Hence, this study aims to make a deep inquiry into the laminar flow and heat transfer of compressible Newtonian fluid in hypersonic aircraft with small attack angles.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, on the basis of mass, momentum and energy conservation laws, the governing equations of the hypersonic boundary layer are established. Viscosity, specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity are considered nonlinear functions concerning temperature. In virtue of the MacCormack finite difference method, the stationary numerical solutions are solved directly, and the validity of the algorithm is verified.

Findings

The results demonstrate that at Mach number 5, compared to the 0° attack angle, the maximum temperature near-wall at the 3° attack angle increases by about 25%. An enjoyable phenomenon is discovered, where the position corresponding to the maximum wall shear force shifts back as the attack angle and Mach number increase. The relationship between the near-wall maximum temperature versus attack angle and Mach number is fitted through numerical calculation results.

Originality/value

Empirical formulas can be used to estimate heat transfer characteristics at small attack angles, which will guide the design of aircraft thermal protection systems.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 34 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

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