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Article
Publication date: 2 May 2023

Xianchuan Yang, Yin Ma and Jiashi Han

The purpose of this paper is to identify the influence of product information on purchase intention and evaluate the moderated mediation effect of return policy leniency in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the influence of product information on purchase intention and evaluate the moderated mediation effect of return policy leniency in cross-border e-commerce.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology is to use multiple regression analysis on 406 qualified online survey responses to determine the influence of product description, product display, and product content on consumer purchasing intention through product involvement as well as the moderated mediation effect of return policy leniency.

Findings

The results show that product description and product content were positively associated with product involvement, while product display did not exhibit a significant relationship between it and product involvement. As hypothesized, product involvement mediated the relationship of product description and product content with consumer purchasing intention. The return policy leniency was also found to positively moderate the mediation path of product content on purchasing intention through product involvement.

Originality/value

This study bridges a gap in the literature on the influence of three kinds of product information on purchasing intention through product involvement in a cross-border e-commerce context. Especially the study is one of the first attempts to determine that good return policy do not apply universally due to implied boundary conditions. The results can be used to expand consumption in cross-border e-commerce.

Details

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, vol. 35 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-5855

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 March 2024

Yin Ma, P.M. Nimmi, Maria Mouratidou and William E. Donald

This study aims to explore the impact of engaging in serious leisure (SL) on the well-being (WB) and self-perceived employability (PE) of university students while also…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the impact of engaging in serious leisure (SL) on the well-being (WB) and self-perceived employability (PE) of university students while also considering the role of career adaptability (CA) as a mediator.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 905 domestic undergraduate students from China completed an online survey.

Findings

The findings reveal that participation in SL positively influences WB and PE. Additionally, the results indicate that CA mediates the SL-WB relationship but not the SL-PE relationship.

Originality/value

The theoretical contribution of this research comes from advancing our understanding of sustainable career theory through empirical testing of SL, PE, and CA on WB outcomes within a higher education setting. The practical implications of this study involve providing universities with strategies to support domestic Chinese undergraduate students in enhancing their WB and PE through active engagement in SL pursuits and the development of CA. Moreover, our findings serve as a foundation for future research investigating whether insights gained from domestic Chinese undergraduate students can provide solutions on a global scale to address the persistent challenges of improving student WB and PE.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 April 2024

Maria Mouratidou, William E. Donald, Nimmi P. Mohandas and Yin Ma

Drawing on a framework of conservation of resources theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between self-perceived academic performance and individual…

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on a framework of conservation of resources theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between self-perceived academic performance and individual entrepreneurial intention and consider the potential moderating role of (1) participation in serious leisure, (2) perceived stress and/or (3) gender.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 405 UK-based undergraduates completed the questionnaire, with a representative gender split of 57% women and 43% men.

Findings

The positive relationship between self-perceived academic performance and individual entrepreneurial intention was moderated by serious leisure (stronger when participation in serious leisure increased) and by perceived stress (stronger when levels of perceived stress were lower). However, contrary to our expectations, gender had no statistically significant moderating role.

Practical implications

The practical contribution comes from informing policy for universities and national governments to increase individual entrepreneurial intention in undergraduates.

Originality/value

The theoretical contribution comes from advancing conservation of resources theory, specifically the interaction of personal resources, resource caravans and resource passageways.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 March 2021

Yin Ma and Dawn Bennett

With a focus on Chinese higher education students, the purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between students' perceived employability and their levels of academic…

2331

Abstract

Purpose

With a focus on Chinese higher education students, the purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between students' perceived employability and their levels of academic engagement and stress.

Design/methodology/approach

The study engaged 1,155 students from three universities in China. Students responded to an online survey, reporting their confidence in relation to their perceived employability, academic engagement and stress in life. The authors employed structural equation modelling to explore students' confidence in each employability attribute and to assess perceived employability relation to academic engagement and perceived stress.

Findings

The results suggest that self-perceptions of employability are positively associated with students' academic engagement and negatively associated with perceived stress. Perceived employability mediated the majority paths.

Originality/value

This is one of the few studies to examine perceived employability in line with academic engagement or stress and the first study to do so in China.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 63 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 June 2021

Nan Wang, Jielin Yin, Zhenzhong Ma and Maolin Liao

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of organizational rewards on two forms of knowledge sharing – explicit knowledge sharing and tacit knowledge sharing in virtual…

2367

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of organizational rewards on two forms of knowledge sharing – explicit knowledge sharing and tacit knowledge sharing in virtual communities, and further to explore the mediating effect of intrinsic motivation on the effect of virtual community rewards on implicit knowledge sharing.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on relevant knowledge sharing theories, this study develops an integrated framework to explore virtual community rewards and tacit and explicit knowledge sharing in a virtual context. This study then collected data from 429 virtual community users in four virtual communities via an online survey. Hierarchical regression analyzes were used to test the proposed research model.

Findings

The results of this study show that virtual rewards have a significantly positive linear relationship with explicit knowledge sharing but have an inverse U-shape relationship with tacit knowledge sharing in virtual communities. In addition, intrinsic motivations including enjoyment and self-efficacy mediate the relationship between rewards and tacit knowledge sharing.

Practical implications

This study suggests more virtual community rewards may not always lead to more tacit knowledge sharing. Instead, too many rewards may weaken the motivation for tacit knowledge sharing. Knowledge management practitioners should make full use of the positive impact of self-efficacy and enjoyment to set up appropriate reward incentives to encourage knowledge-sharing, in particular, tacit knowledge sharing and to better manage virtual communities.

Originality/value

This study explores knowledge-sharing behavior in virtual communities, an important step toward more integrated knowledge-sharing theories. While online communities have become increasingly important for today’s knowledge economy, few studies have explored knowledge and knowledge sharing in a virtual context and this study helps to bridge the gap. In addition, this study develops an integrated framework to explore the mechanism through which virtual community rewards affect knowledge sharing with intrinsic motivation mediating this relationship in online communities, which further enriches the understanding on how to use virtual rewards to motivate knowledge sharing behaviors in the virtual context.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 26 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 September 2020

Carry Mak, Robin Stanley Snell and Jacky Hong

The purpose of this paper is to investigate Peter Senge’s ideas from the perspective of the spiritual ideal of harmony/He (和).

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate Peter Senge’s ideas from the perspective of the spiritual ideal of harmony/He (和).

Design/methodology/approach

Following a literature review of the conceptualization of Senge’s fifth discipline and harmony, an appreciative case study of Alibaba is adopted to demonstrate the role of harmony in guiding the transformative application of the five disciplines of the learning organization.

Findings

In developing as a learning organization, Alibaba is portrayed as having embraced three levels of harmony: person-within-oneself, person-to-others and person-to-nature harmony. The authors identify three equivalencies between Senge’s disciplines and the traditional Chinese ideal of harmony. First, personal mastery and metal models correspond to developing person-within-oneself harmony. Second, team learning and shared vision entail developing person-to-others harmony. Third, systems thinking aligns with person-to-nature harmony.

Practical implications

The case study demonstrates various approaches that can be used to foster the development of person-within-oneself, person-to-others and person-to-nature harmony within an aspiring learning organization.

Originality/value

This paper shows how core values of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, distilled into the Chinese ideal of harmony, can encourage the cultivation of learning organizations.

Details

The Learning Organization, vol. 27 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-6474

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 28 February 2023

Giacomo Pigatto, Lino Cinquini, Andrea Tenucci and John Dumay

This study aims to explore the serendipitous discovery of integrated reporting (IR) by Alpha, an Italian small and medium-sized enterprise (SME). Alpha piqued the curiosity when…

1715

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the serendipitous discovery of integrated reporting (IR) by Alpha, an Italian small and medium-sized enterprise (SME). Alpha piqued the curiosity when the authors discovered that it experimented with IR alongside other management accounting practices, such as the Balanced Scorecard. As the authors reflected on Alpha’s experiences, the authors had to opportunistically develop a new framework to understand the change that was taking place at Alpha fully. Thus, the authors developed the serendipitous drift framework. This study contributes to addressing the gap between management accounting research that sees change as a planned, ordered process versus research that sees it as an unmanageable drift.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors ground the research on a qualitative methodology based on a single case study. This methodology allows us to focus on understanding what has happened at Alpha to discover new themes and provide theoretical generalisations. The authors developed the framework using middle-range thinking and fleshed it out using empirical findings from the case study. Middle-range thinking implies going back and forth between the theory and the empirical material. Therefore, the authors develop the serendipitous drift framework from prior theories and use it to inform the empirical study. In turn, the empirical material collected in Alpha helps refine and flesh out the serendipitous drift framework. The framework explains how Alpha leveraged serendipity to steer change towards favourable outcomes for them.

Findings

The authors find that the search for change undertaken by Alpha’s managers was non-specific but purposeful. Their dispositions were sagacious enough to recognise the potential value found in management accounting practices, such as IR and the Balanced Scorecard. They chanced upon new and unforeseen practices through trial and error, iteration, internal engagement and networking.

Research limitations/implications

Overall, the results indicate that Alpha’s managers shaped the disorder of management accounting changes, even though it followed unexpected, uncertain and messy paths. Indeed, appropriate informal controls can act as a frame of reference for choosing, adapting and implementing new management accounting practices to shape the disorder. Informal controls can both guide and bound the experimentation process towards desirable outcomes.

Originality/value

The authors contribute to management accounting change theory by developing a framework rooted in serendipity and drifting theories. The framework identifies how searching, sagacity and chance are essential for making positive, unexpected discoveries. Therefore, the authors provide novel insights on how and why IR and other management accounting practices are eventually translated and adopted in the case company. Moreover, the serendipitous drift framework has the potential to help managers frame cultural controls to actively seek opportunities for valuable serendipitous eureka moments through networking and experimentation.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 31 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-372X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 4 March 2021

Leonardo B. Barbosa, Jorge Carneiro, Camila Costa, Filip De Beule, Rafael Goldszmidt and T. Diana Macedo-Soares

Through a systematic review of the literature, this study analyzes the empirical literature on the adoption of environmental sustainability strategies in order to identify (i) the…

Abstract

Through a systematic review of the literature, this study analyzes the empirical literature on the adoption of environmental sustainability strategies in order to identify (i) the main conceptual aspects by which environmental sustainability strategies can be conceived of, (ii) the main determinants of the adoption of such strategies, (iii) the expected impacts on the company’s international performance, as well as (iv) the mechanisms that mediate the effect of environmental sustainability strategies on international performance. This study thereby offers propositions about the relationships between environmental sustainability strategies, their determinants (both in relation to the institutional environment and to the company’s domain), and their performance implications.

Details

The Multiple Dimensions of Institutional Complexity in International Business Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-245-1

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 November 2022

Yaoyao Ma, Qiang Miao, Wenping Liang, Haiyang Yu, Mengjuan Yin, Kai Zang, Xueqing Pang and Xianfeng Wang

The purpose of this paper is to obtain the optimal N2/Ar ratio parameters for preparing Ta (C, N) coating. Three coatings with different N2/Ar ratios were prepared on the TA15…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to obtain the optimal N2/Ar ratio parameters for preparing Ta (C, N) coating. Three coatings with different N2/Ar ratios were prepared on the TA15 substrate, and their effects on the wear properties of the coatings were discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

Ta(C, N) coatings with three different N2/Ar ratios were prepared on TA15 substrates using the double cathode glow metallurgical plasma alloying technique (DGMPA) using a step-by-step diffusion method.

Findings

With the increase of N2/Ar flow ratio, the hardness and elastic modulus of the coating first increase and then decrease. Compared with the S1 sample (N2/Ar gas ratio 25: 75) and the S3 sample (N2/Ar gas ratio 75: 25), the S2 sample (N2/Ar gas ratio 50: 50) has better mechanical properties, with hardness increased by 48.45% and 6.8%, respectively, and elastic strain ratio increased by 22.8% and 28.5%, respectively. Moreover, the wear degree of the S2 sample is less than other samples. The wear rate of the S2 sample was 32.4% lower than the S3 sample at 300°C and 14.3% lower than the S3 sample at 500°C. Therefore, the S2 sample has the best mechanical properties and the best high temperature wear resistance.

Originality/value

Ta(C, N) coatings were prepared by DGMPA technology, and the wear mechanism of Ta(C, N) coatings with different N2/Ar ratios was investigated to reduce the wear rate.

Details

Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, vol. 75 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0036-8792

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 October 2012

Zhixiang Yin, Jianzhong Cui, Yan Yang, Yin Ma, Wei Wang, Jin Yang and Xia Sun

The bottleneck of current DNA computing paradigms based on brute‐force search strategy is that initial solution space grows exponentially with problem size, thus only trivial…

339

Abstract

Purpose

The bottleneck of current DNA computing paradigms based on brute‐force search strategy is that initial solution space grows exponentially with problem size, thus only trivial instances of NP‐complete problem can be solved. The purpose of this paper is to present a novel molecular program based on sticker models for solving dominating set problems.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors do not synthesize the initial solution pool containing every possible candidate solution as previously reported algorithm. Instead, solutions DNA molecules to the problem of interest are constructed during the course of computation.

Findings

It is shown that “exponential explosions” inherent in current DNA computing paradigms may be overcome in this way.

Originality/value

The paper proposes an error‐resistant DNA algorithm based on sticker model for solving minimum dominating problems.

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