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1 – 10 of 283Ling Zhang, Nan Feng, Haiyang Feng and Minqiang Li
For an entrant platform in the on-demand service market, choosing an appropriate employment model is critical. This study explores how the entrant optimally chooses the employment…
Abstract
Purpose
For an entrant platform in the on-demand service market, choosing an appropriate employment model is critical. This study explores how the entrant optimally chooses the employment model to achieve better performance and investigates the optimal pricing strategies and wage schemes for both incumbent and entrant platforms.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the Hotelling model, the authors develop a game-theoretic framework to study the incumbent's and entrant's optimal service prices and wage schemes. Moreover, the authors determine the entrant's optimal employment model by comparing the entrant's optimal profits under different market configurations and analytically analyze the impacts of some critical factors on the platforms' decision-making.
Findings
This study reveals that the impacts of the unit misfit cost of suppliers or consumers on the pricing strategies and wage schemes vary with different operational efficiencies of platforms. Only when both the service efficiency of contractors and the basic employee benefits are low, entrants should adopt the employee model. Moreover, a lower unit misfit cost of suppliers or consumers makes entrants more likely to choose the contractor model. However, the service efficiency of contractors has nonmonotonic effects on the entrant's decision.
Originality/value
This study focuses on an entrant's decision on the optimal employment model in an on-demand service market, considering the competition between entrants and incumbents on both the supplier and consumer sides, which has not been investigated in the prior literature.
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Abstract
Purpose
With the development of digitalization and interconnection, there is a growing need for enterprise customers to ensure the compatibility of the third-party components they are using in the manufacturing process, thus raising the integration requirements for the Industrial Internet platform and its third-party developers. Therefore, our study investigates the optimal integration decision of the Industrial Internet platform while considering its access price, the integration cost, and the net utility derived by enterprise customers from the third-party components.
Design/methodology/approach
We model a two-sided Industrial Internet platform that connects customers on the demand side to the developers on the supply side. We then explore the integration decision of the Industrial Internet platform and its important factors by solving the optimal profit function.
Findings
First, despite the high integration cost of third-party developers, the platform still chooses to integrate when enterprise customers derive high utility from the third-party components. Second, due to the compatibility effect, charging the enterprise customers a higher price may reduce the platform profits when these customers derive low utility from the third-party components. Third, the platform profits will increase along with the integration cost of third-party developers when it is low in the case where enterprise customers derive low utility from third-party components.
Originality/value
Our findings offer insightful takeaways for the Industrial Internet platform when making integration decisions.
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Fu-Wang Yang, Jiang-Min Huang, Guan-Jun Zhang, Chenxi Zhang, Dong-Lan Sun, Nan-Feng Gao and Shouzhi Yi
The phosphorus and zinc contained in zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate (ZDDP) caused severe environment pollution and catalyst poison. Thus, the phosphorus-free additive, such as…
Abstract
Purpose
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.
Design/methodology/approach
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.
Findings
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.
Originality/value
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.
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The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyze the motive of family‐controlled firms to pay cash dividends in China.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyze the motive of family‐controlled firms to pay cash dividends in China.
Design/methodology/approach
Using some econometrical models, the paper designs and conducts a series of empirical research on cash dividends behavior, thus acquiring credible empirical data.
Findings
Using a sample of 204 family firms, the motive of family‐controlled firms to pay cash dividends was investigated. Dividend ratio was found to decrease with the separation of ultimate ownership and control right; this may reflect the tunneling motive of the family owners. Different from others, it was also found that high‐growth firms pay more dividends and that the family doing so may want to build a high reputation for the friendly treatment of minority investors for future financing.
Practical implications
The paper discusses investor protection matters in China.
Originality/value
The paper' findings provide policy implications for corporate governance reform and capital market development in China.
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Zhu Fanglong, Feng Qianqian, Liu Rangtong, Li Kejing and Zhou Yu
– The purpose of this paper is to employ a fractional approach to predict the permeability of nonwoven fabrics by simulating diffusion process.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to employ a fractional approach to predict the permeability of nonwoven fabrics by simulating diffusion process.
Design/methodology/approach
The method described here follows a similar approach to anomalous diffusion process. The relationship between viscous hydraulic permeability and electrical conductivity of porous material is applied in the derivation of fractional power law of permeability.
Findings
The presented power law predicted by fractional method is validated by the results obtained from simulation of fluid flow around a 3D nonwoven porous material by using the lattice-Boltzmann approach. A relation between the fluid permeability and the fluid content (filling fraction), namely, following the power law of the form, was derived via a scaling argument. The exponent n is predominantly a function of pore-size distribution dimension and random walk dimension of the fluid.
Originality/value
The fractional scheme by simulating diffusion process presented in this paper is a new method to predict wicking fluid flow through nonwoven fabrics. The forecast approach can be applied to the prediction of the permeability of other porous materials.
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Shifa Sulaiman and A.P. Sudheer
Most of the redundant dual-arm robots are singular free, dexterous and collision free compared to other robotic arms. This paper aims to analyse the workspace of redundant arms to…
Abstract
Purpose
Most of the redundant dual-arm robots are singular free, dexterous and collision free compared to other robotic arms. This paper aims to analyse the workspace of redundant arms to study the manipulability. Furthermore, multi-layer perceptron (MLP) algorithm is used to determine the various joint parameters of both the upper body redundant arms. Trajectory planning of robotic arms is carried out with the help of inverse solutions obtained from the MLP algorithm.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the kinematic equations are derived from screw theory approach and inverse kinematic solutions are determined using MLP algorithm. Levenberg–Marquardt (LM) and Bayesian regulation (BR) techniques are used as the backpropagation algorithms. The results from two backpropagation techniques are compared for determining the prediction accuracy. The inverse solutions obtained from the MLP algorithm are then used to optimize the cubic spline trajectories planned for avoiding collision between arms with the help of convex optimization technique. The dexterity of the redundant arms is analysed with the help of Cartesian workspace of arms.
Findings
Dexterity of redundant arms is analysed by studying the voids and singular spaces present inside the workspace of arms. MLP algorithms determine unique solutions with less computational effort using BR backpropagation. The inverse solutions obtained from MLP algorithm effectively optimize the cubic spline trajectory for the redundant dual arms using convex optimization technique.
Originality/value
Most of the MLP algorithms used for determining the inverse solutions are used with LM backpropagation technique. In this paper, BR technique is used as the backpropagation technique. BR technique converges fast with less computational time than LM method. The inverse solutions of arm joints for traversing optimized cubic spline trajectory using convex optimization technique are computed from the MLP algorithm.
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Abstract
Subject area
Leadership.
Study level/applicability
The case is suitable for MBA, Executive level courses.
Case overview
Yongye Group is a biotechnological enterprise in Inner Mongolia, China. In China, people lack trust in economic transactions due to the transitional state of the economy, especially regarding food safety. To respond to this situation, Wu Zishen, the chairman of the Board of Directors of Yongye Group, was determined to build trust among employees, distributors, farmers, and consumers towards the company. To this end, he started using a creative incentive system with employees and stakeholders: the pay-before-performance incentive system. According to this system, the reward is delivered in advance, contrary to be paid after the fulfillment of the task. This practice is meant to transform employees' work attitude from a passive “being told to work” to a more proactive “I want to work” mentality. When such an incentive system is practiced with customers and external distributors, it sends a message that the company is “treating customers as company employees”, which means that they are trusted as if they were part of the company itself. Wu Zishen also introduced a coherent series of leadership practices that generate a truly proactive culture in the organization.
Expected learning outcomes
From this case, students will learn how to create a proactive culture in business organizations and the effect of pay-before-performance on employees' work motivation.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes and an exercise for class-based discussion are available.
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Zhenan Feng, Ruggiero Lovreglio, Tak Wing Yiu, Dwayne Mark Acosta, Banghao Sun and Nan Li
In the construction sector, site excavation is one of the most dangerous and challenging activities. Proper training can be an effective way to mitigate excavation hazards…
Abstract
Purpose
In the construction sector, site excavation is one of the most dangerous and challenging activities. Proper training can be an effective way to mitigate excavation hazards. Virtual reality (VR) has been used as an effective training tool to enhance safety performance in various industries. However, little attention has been paid to the potential of this technology for construction excavation safety training.
Design/methodology/approach
This study proposes an immersive VR training system for excavation safety and hazard identification. The proposed VR training system was compared with a health and safety manual via a controlled experiment.
Findings
Results based on scores obtained immediately after training indicate that VR training significantly enhanced practical performance, knowledge acquisition and self-efficacy. Results also show that knowledge was retained four weeks after training. In addition, VR training outperformed health and safety manuals regarding knowledge retention.
Originality/value
This study measures the practical performance to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed VR training system. Also, this study compares the VR training system with a traditional training method by measuring knowledge acquisition and retention. The results demonstrate the potential of VR as a training tool for excavation safety and hazards.
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Bochun Xu, Nan Zou, Yunhao Jia, Chao Feng, Jiajia Bu, Yu Yan and Zhipeng Xing
The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of micro-nano surface texture on the corrosion resistance of a titanium alloy and investigate the correlation between corrosion…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of micro-nano surface texture on the corrosion resistance of a titanium alloy and investigate the correlation between corrosion resistance and hydrophobicity.
Design/methodology/approach
The surface of the Ti6Al4V alloy was modified by laser processing and anodizing to fabricate micro-pits, nanotubes and micro-nano surface textures. Afterward, the surface morphology, hydrophobicity and polarization curve of the samples were analyzed by cold field scanning electron microscopy, contact angle measurement instruments and a multi-channel electrochemical workstation.
Findings
The micro-nano surface texture can enhance the hydrophobicity of the Ti6Al4V surface, which may lead to better drag reduction to ease the friction of implants in vivo. Nevertheless, no correlation existed between surface hydrophobicity and corrosion resistance; the corrosion resistance of samples with nanotubes and high-density samples with micro-nano surface texture was extremely enhanced, indicating the similar corrosion resistance of the two.
Research limitations/implications
The mechanism of micro-dimples on the corrosion resistance of the micro-nano surface texture was not studied.
Practical implications
The density of micro-pits needs to be optimized to guarantee excellent corrosion resistance in the design of the micro-nano surface texture; otherwise, it will not fulfill the requirement of surface modification.
Originality/value
The influence of the micro-nano surface texture on the corrosion resistance, as well as the relationship between hydrophobicity and corrosion resistance of the titanium alloy surface, were systematically investigated for the first time. These conclusions offer new knowledge.
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Chien-Yuan Hou, Yung-Feng Lee and Yen-Hao Peng
Examination of steel moment resisting frames after the 1994 Northridge earthquake showed fatigue cracks presented in the beam–column connections of the frames. These observations…
Abstract
Purpose
Examination of steel moment resisting frames after the 1994 Northridge earthquake showed fatigue cracks presented in the beam–column connections of the frames. These observations indicate that fatigue failure may occur in the steel components of building structures in an earthquake event. To apply the fatigue design approach using the Palmgren–Miner’s rule for steel components of the moment resisting frames requires the knowledge regarding the damage index value at fatigue failure. The purpose of this paper is to perform fatigue tests to give the first damage values of steel components subjected to real earthquake-induced loadings.
Design/methodology/approach
The added-damping-and-stiffness steel plates which are used in building structures for earthquake mitigation were fabricated and tested by constant amplitude, SAC block and earthquake-induced loadings to failure. The earthquake loadings were obtained from the dynamic analysis of a steel frame with the mentioned plates. The load cycles of the SAC block and the calculated earthquake loadings were counted using the rainflow-counting method, and the damage index value of each specimen were calculated using the Palmgren–Miner’s rule.
Findings
Reverse stiffness obtained from cyclic load-displacement loops is a robust and consistent parameter that can be used for determining fatigue failure of tested components. The Palmgren–Miner’s damage values at failure, caused by earthquake loadings, are smaller than 1, and in addition, are also smaller than those obtained from the tests of the SAC block loading. The large-amplitude cycles in the earthquake loading produce large damage on the specimens, and intermediate range cycles also produce damage that should not be neglected in the fatigue analysis.
Originality/value
Today’s building design code allows large plastic deformation to occur in steel frames during an earthquake. However, the pre-Northridge earthquake steel frames showed fatigue cracks without the expected substantial plastic deformation at beam flanges. Proposed solutions to this problem were the reduced beam section neglecting the existence of the cracks at beam–column connections. This study considered the fatigue phenomenon in steel frames and provided the first set of tested fatigue damage values for steel components subjected to realistic earthquake loadings, which offered a possible method of dealing with fatigue cracks in the steel components of a building structure.
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