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This study aims to obtain governance strategies for managing the complexity of megaprojects by analyzing the impact of individual factors and their configurations using the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method and to provide references for project managers.

With the continuous development of the economy, society and construction industry, the number and scale of megaprojects are increasing, and the complexity is becoming serious. Based on the relevant literature, the factors affecting the complexity of megaprojects are determined through case analysis, and the paths of factors affecting the complexity are constructed for megaprojects. Then, the fsQCA method is used to analyze the factors affecting the complexity of megaprojects through 245 valid questionnaires from project engineers in this study.

The results support the correlation between the complexity factors of megaprojects, with six histological paths leading to high complexity and seven histological paths leading to low complexity.

It breaks the limitations of the traditional project complexity field through a “configuration perspective” and concludes that megaproject complexity is a synergistic effect of multiple factors. The study is important for enriching the theory of megaproject complexity and providing complexity governance strategies for managers in megaproject decision-making.

The phosphorus and zinc contained in zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate (ZDDP) caused severe environment pollution and catalyst poison. Thus, the phosphorus-free additive, such as borate esters, has become one of studying hot topics in the area of oil additive. However, the stability of hydrolysis greatly limited the use of borate esters. The purpose of this paper is to improve the stability of hydrolysis by synthesizing a new kind of N-containing heterocyclic borate ester (MTTDB) as a lubricant additive.

The tribological properties of novel borate ester (MTTDB) as an additive in the base oil were studied by a four-ball machine. The element composition and chemical state of the tribofilm were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrometer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

The results showed that the base oil lubricated by MTTDB exhibited high hydrolytic stability, good anti-wear property and excellent extreme pressure performance. When 2.5 per cent MTTDB was added into the 100N base oil, the smallest wear scar diameter (0.46 mm) was obtained. Furthermore, the decomposed borate ester, organic sulfide adsorbed on the worn surface was detected, and S element reacted with the steel surface and generated FeSO4, both of which contributed to the formation of the tribofilm.

Based on N-containing heterocyclic compounds, for instance, thiadiazole derivatives, introducing nitrogen and sulfur elements into borate ester, a new kind of N-containing heterocyclic borate ester (MTTDB) exhibited excellent property in hydrolysis stability, friction-reducing, anti-wear and extreme pressure. This synthesized method would be helpful for the borate ester used as additive in engine oil, gear oil and other industrial lubricants.

Although the financial shared service (FSS) mode has become a well-established organizational arrangement, current information system (IS) research remains limited and mixed. The purpose of this study is to narrow research gaps in the literature on shared services from an FSS practice perspective. The following research questions guide this study: (1) what are the important antecedents of FSS implementation? (2) what is the impact of FSS implementation on firm performance?

Drawing on the technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework and previous innovation studies, this study explores the impact of FSS implementation on firm performance. A questionnaire survey was conducted on Chinese firms using partial least squares (PLS) for data analysis.

The authors find technological, organizational and environmental factors affect the extent and depth of FSS implementation. The empirical results show that relative advantage, compatibility, top management support, managerial obstacles and competitive pressure significantly affect FSS implementation, but bandwagon pressure does not have a direct impact on it. Top management support is the most important factor, and managerial obstacles and compatibility are controllable and manageable factors for firms. The study confirms that FSS improves the financial and non-financial performance of firms significantly, and the degree of improvement in non-financial is greater than that in financial performance.

A comprehension of the key factors influencing FSS implementation will help companies predict weaknesses in their implementation plan and design suitable strategies to handle deployment to achieve these benefits. Managers can make a comprehensive decision regarding the long-term development of combining FSS and the suitability of companies.

The findings contribute to the shared services implementation theory by identifying a set of theoretical factors that shape a firm's shared service implementation. This study provides empirical support to gauge the impact of FSS implementation on firm performance and provides new evidence for a shared-service payoff study. Moreover, the study extends the applicability of the TOE framework and the balanced scorecard (BSC) viewpoint to the FSS implementation field.

Mobile fitness apps (MFAs) are increasingly popular for people to promote physical activity (PA) and further enhance health status via behavioral change techniques (BCTs), but the phenomenon of users abandoning MFAs is still common. For improving users' PA and decreasing dropout rates of MFAs, this study intends to gain insights into the effects of major BCTs-based incentive factors on users' PA under MFAs context and the gender differences in their effects.

Based on self-determination theory, three major incentive factors were chosen from the perspective of self-peer-platform incentives, i.e. self-monitoring (SM), social support (SS) and platform rewards (PR). A dataset of 4,530 users from a popular mobile fitness app was collected and was analyzed using fixed effects models.

The results show that all three types of incentive factors are positively associated with users' PA. The estimated effect sizes can be ordered as: SM > PR > SS. Moreover, social support has a stronger positive impact on PA of females than males, whereas platform rewards have a weaker positive effect on PA of females than males. In addition, the results also indicate there are no significant gender differences in the effect of self-monitoring.

There is insufficient research on systematically examining the effects of different types of incentive factors of MFAs on users' PA in one study. This study extends the current understanding of incentive factors by simultaneously examining different incentive factors and the role of gender. The findings can also provide insightful guidance for the design of MFAs.

This study aims to address the growing importance of online health information (OHI) and the associated uncertainty. Although previous research has explored factors influencing the credibility of OHI, results have been inconsistent. Therefore, this study aims to identify the essential factors that influence the perceived credibility of OHI by conducting a meta-analysis of articles published from 2010 to 2022. The study also aims to examine the moderating effects of demographic characteristics, study design and the platforms where health information is located.

Based on the Prominence-Interpretation Theory (PIT), a meta-analysis of 25 empirical studies was conducted to explore 12 factors related to information content and source, social interaction, individual and media affordance. Moderators such as age, education level, gender of participants, sample size, platforms and research design were also examined.

Results suggest that all factors, except social support, have significant effects on the credibility of OHI. Among them, argument quality had the strongest correlation with credibility and individual factors were also found to be relevant. Moderating effects indicate that social support was significantly moderated by age and education level. Different sample sizes may lead to variations in the role of social endorsement, while personal involvement was moderated by sample size, platform and study design.

This study enriches the application of PIT in the health domain and provides guidance for scholars to expand the scope of research on factors influencing OHI credibility.

The purpose of this paper is to identify staff skills and competencies on which Chinese open universities should focus their professional development activities in order to enhance the quality of open and distance learning (ODL) in China.

Data were collected from surveys of 220 academic and academic-related Chinese staff, each of whom participated in one of seven 3-day Learning Design and Course Creation (LDCC) workshops at three large regional open universities in China between 2017 and 2019. The workshops were based on the UK Open University (UKOU) approach to learning design (LD) and course creation. Using content analysis methodology, textual responses were analysed and compared against the Instructional Design Competencies framework provided by the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction (IBSTPI).

(1) Designing instructional interventions, (2) keeping up to date with design theories, (3) communicating in order to manage stakeholders, teams and projects were the main competencies identified from the participants responses. However, these three identified competencies differed in emphasis between the institutions that took part.

In Western higher education institutions (HEIs), LD has developed as an important approach to improving quality. A need has been identified for robust approaches to quality and professional development opportunities to enhance teaching and learning standards in open and distance learning (ODL) in China. This paper identifies and discusses specific LD skills and competencies that could be targeted to improve the quality of ODL in China.

Previous studies have reached inconsistent conclusions on foreign direct investment (FDI) technology spillovers and corporate innovation. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the technological spillover effects of FDI from the microperspective of firm linkages induced by geographic distance. Further analysis is conducted on the impact and mechanism of this spillover on the innovation quality of Chinese enterprises. The conclusions drawn from this paper can guide Chinese enterprises' foreign capital utilization and innovation strategy choices.

Using the data of China's A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2019, this paper explores the role of FDI technology spillover in enterprise innovation quality through a two-way fixed-effect model. The robustness of the results is proven by substituting variables, adding industry fixed effects and excluding high-profit groups, and further using the two-stage least squares (2SLS) method to alleviate the empirical endogeneity problem.

These findings indicate that FDI technology spillover based on geographic proximity has a positive impact on the innovation quality of Chinese enterprises. However, there are different impacts for different types of enterprises. FDI technology spillover has a positive impact on the innovation quality of non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs) and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), while it has no effect on state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and large enterprises. The authors also find that the degree of financing constraints and R&D investment are important transmission mechanisms between FDI technology spillover and enterprise innovation quality.

This study ignores industry characteristics when considering foreign enterprises around Chinese enterprises. In fact, technology spillover effects differ across industries. When the authors matched microdata to regions, only the provincial level was considered. Therefore, there is still room for further research. In future research, the authors should consider industry characteristics and group foreign enterprises and Chinese enterprises in the same industry and in different industries to explore industry differences in technology spillover. In addition, when matching corporate data to regions, the authors can match to the city level and draw city-level conclusions.

This study is different from previous studies that focus on the quantity of enterprise innovation or innovation output. The authors focus on the role of technological spillovers in the quality of Chinese enterprise innovation, enriching research in the field of enterprise innovation quality. In addition, the current FDI technology spillover indicators are technically difficult to measure at the micro level. The authors draw inspiration from the theory of the geographical structure of financial supply and combine the creation methods of macro and micro indicators in existing articles in other fields. The authors ingeniously construct a new FDI technical spillover indicator. This indicator combines the commonly used regional FDI technology spillover with the geographic proximity of enterprises at the microlevel by constructing an interaction term between the two. This indicator not only alleviates the endogeneity problem to a certain extent but also has implications for future research in the field of FDI technology spillovers at the micro level.

(1) FDI technology spillovers are an effective way to improve the innovation quality of local enterprises, especially for non-SOEs and SMEs. Therefore, The authors suggest that in the context of dual circulation, the Chinese government should continue to open wider to the outside world and encourage foreign enterprises to invest in China. (2) In future development, managers of SOEs and large enterprises should create an innovation incentive mechanism. Moreover, they should change their vertical management structure and make full use of their policy advantages and budget advantages to increase innovation activities. In the process of acquiring technology spillovers, enterprises need to solve their own financing constraints.

First, this study solves a technical problem. It is technically difficult to measure the current FDI technical spillover indicators at the micro level. This study innovatively constructs a new FDI technology spillover indicator that combines regional FDI technology spillovers with the microperspective of the geographical proximity of enterprises. This approach not only alleviates certain endogeneity problems in the empirical evidence but also enriches relevant research in the field of technology spillover. In addition, this study focuses on the impact and mechanism of this spillover, which addresses the current research gap among previous studies that mainly focus on innovation quantity and ignore innovation quality.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the impact of network position of independent directors on the decision-making process of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBMAs).

With 912 CBMAs constructed by 431 Chinese-listed corporations from 2006 to 2015, the authors provide graph-theoretical methods to quantify directors’ networks and build logistics models of CBMA success and generalized linear model for transaction value.

The authors find that independent directors in central positions of board networks of CBMA significantly strengthen the possibility of success of CBMA and react more positively to large CBMA. The results reveal that state-owned enterprises reduce the importance of independent directors in central positions in assisting successful CBMA, but strengthen the importance in promoting large CBMA. Specifically, majority shareholders counteract the importance of independent directors in central positions in assisting successful CBMA, but improve the importance in promoting large CBMA.

The findings suggest that independent directors in central positions, which are embedded in sets of board relationships and interactions, lead to efficient external corporate governance as a mechanism to facilitate a Chinese-listed firm’s CBMA decision making.

Chinese construction projects commonly implement subcontracting, but organizational arrangements have received little attention. Some studies have debated the impact of firm capabilities on subcontracting. To address these issues, this study differentiates the general contractor’s technological capabilities and alliance management capabilities and investigates how capabilities affect the degree of subcontracting and subcontracting dispersion based on the resource-based view and transaction cost economics.

By conducting a survey, 219 valid questionnaires were collected from Chinese construction companies. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to test the influence of capabilities on subcontracting organizational arrangements and the moderating role of uncertainty.

The results show that technological capabilities decrease the degree of subcontracting, whereas alliance management capabilities increase the degree of subcontracting as well as subcontracting dispersion. The results also indicate that the positive effects of alliance management capabilities are weakened by project uncertainty.

This study provides a better understanding of the diversity of subcontracting organizational arrangements in China. In addition, the findings may help general contractors carry out a rational arrangement by considering their capabilities and transaction hazards.

This study contributes to a holistic understanding of how capabilities determine subcontracting by distinguishing technological capabilities and alliance management capabilities and refining the degree of subcontracting and subcontracting dispersion. Meanwhile, the findings highlight the complementarity of the resource-based view and transaction cost economics by examining the moderating effect of uncertainty.

This study aims to provide a method for classifying travellers’ requirements to help hoteliers understand travellers’ requirements and improve hotel services. Specifically, this study develops a strength-frequency Kano (SF-Kano) model to classify the requirements expressed by travellers in online reviews.

The strength and frequency of travellers’ requirements are determined through sentiment and statistical analyses of the 13,217 crawled online reviews. The proposed method considering the interaction between strength and frequency is proposed to classify the different travellers’ requirements.

This study identifies 13 travellers’ requirements by mining online reviews. According to the results of the improved Kano model, the six travellers’ requirements belong to one-dimensional requirements; two travellers’ requirements belong to must-be requirements; three travellers’ requirements belong to attractive requirements; two travellers’ requirements belong to indifferent requirements.

Results of this research can guide hoteliers to address hotel service improvement strategies according to the types of travellers’ requirements. This study can also expand the analysis scope of hotel online reviews and provide a reference for hoteliers to understand travellers’ requirements.

By mining online reviews, this study proposes an SF-Kano model to classify travellers’ requirements by considering both the strength and frequency of requirements. This study uses the optimisation model to determine the classification thresholds. This process maximises travellers’ satisfaction at the lowest cost. The classification results of travellers’ requirements can help hoteliers gain a deeper understanding of travellers’ requirements and prioritise service improvements.