Stakeholder orientation and organizational performance in an emerging market

There has been research that studies Chinese firms’ stakeholder orientation but fails to identify Chinese firms’ specific stakeholder groups. In addition, little research in this line has been conducted so far to reflect recent Chinese constitutional transition. This study seeks to fill these gaps. It extends previous studies assuming that a fixed set of stakeholders is suitable for firms in different countries context, and identifies Chinese firms’ key stakeholder groups by adopting the descriptive approach of stakeholder theory. Based on this identification, the authors further examine how these stakeholder orientations influence organizational performance and how they interact. Interviews with managers from 107 firms show that customer, employee, shareholder, supplier, and competitors are perceived as Chinese firms’ most important stakeholders; empirical studies using data collected from 307 Chinese firms reveal that orientations towards these stakeholders enhance organizational performance. Moreover, there are synergy effects existing among customer orientation, supplier orientation, and competitor orientation, and between customer orientation and competitor orientation, while shareholder orientation has significant hindering effects upon competitor orientation as a reflection of recent institutional changes taking place in China

The determinants of export performance: a review of the literature 2006-2014

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to synthesize and evaluate recent studies on determinants of export performance. Design/methodology/approach Using a vote-counting technique this paper reviews 124 papers published between 2006 and 2014 to assess the determinants of export performance. Findings The results indicate that significant progress has been made during these nine years and that: (1) numerous new determinants are identified, (2) data quality and statistical biases have received considerable attention, and (3) interaction and indirect relationships are considered. However, at the same time, the research of export performance is still limited by (1) a lack of synthetic theoretical basis, (2) inconsistent empirical test results, and (3) insufficiency in the research framework and statistical methodologies. Originality/value Export performance has received increasing attention over recent decades, but the area is still characterized by fragmentation and diversity hindering theoretical and practical development. This paper integrates the findings of recent studies on export performance and provides further discussion from both theoretical and methodological aspects, and points out the directions for future research

Topology searching algorithm for multi-port hybrid circuit breakers based on graph theory

Due to the significant advantages of low cost, integrated multi-port hybrid DC circuit breakers (M-HCBs) with a reduced number of devices have attracted extensive attention for fault blocking in multi-terminal VSC-HVDC system. However, the current topology exploration by researchers is random, uncertain, and time-consuming. In order to provide more new cost-effective topologies, this paper innovatively proposes a topology searching algorithm for the IGBT-type M-HCB and uses the concept of ‘roadblock’ to simplify the adjacency matrix. It can be used to significantly save time spent on proposing a new M-HCB topology because viable topologies can be quickly and rigorously carried out from a large number of directed graphs using computers. Performance characteristics of all derived topologies are simultaneously obtained, and a comparison can be easily conducted to meet the needs of actual application scenarios. A three-port M-HCB example-specific application is given, along with some detailed output topologies that prove the validity and feasibility of the proposed method

High-Speed Low-Power Viterbi Decoder Design for TCM Decoders

High-speed, low-power design of Viterbi decoders for trellis coded modulation (TCM) systems is presented in this paper. It is well known that the Viterbi decoder (VD) is the dominant module determining the overall power consumption of TCM decoders. We propose a pre-computation architecture incorporated with T-algorithm for VD, which can effectively reduce the power consumption without degrading the decoding speed much. A general solution to derive the optimal pre-computation steps is also given in the paper. Implementation result of a VD for a rate-3/4 convolutional code used in a TCM system shows that compared with the full trellis VD, the pre-computation architecture reduces the power consumption by as much as 70% without performance loss, while the degradation in clock speed is negligible.This is the author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by IEEE and can be found at: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isnumber=6257480. ©2012 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other users, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted components of this work in other works.Keywords: Trellis coded modulation (TCM), Viterbi decoder, VLS

Does Preoperative Radio(chemo)therapy Increase Anastomotic Leakage in Rectal Cancer Surgery? A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Objective. Preoperative radio(chemo)therapy (pR(C)T) appears to increase postoperative complications of rectal cancer resection, but clinical trials have reported conflicting results. The objective of this meta-analysis was performed to assess the effects of pR(C)T on anastomotic leak after rectal cancer resection. Methods. PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched from January 1980 to January 2014. Randomized controlled trials included all original articles reporting anastomotic leak in patients with rectal cancer, among whom some received preoperative radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy while others did not. The analysed end-points were the anastomotic leak. Result. Seven randomized controlled trials with 3375 patients were included in the meta-analysis. 1660 forming the group undergoing preoperative radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy versus 1715 patients undergoing without preoperative radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. The meta-analyses found that pR(C)T was not an independent risk factor for anastomotic leakage (OR 1.02, 95% CI 0.80–1.30; P=0.88). Subgroups analysis was performed and the result was not altered. Conclusions. Current evidence demonstrates that pR(C)T did not increase the risk of postoperative anastomotic leak after rectal cancer resection in patients

An animal model of SARS produced by infection of Macaca mulatta with SARS coronavirus.

A new SARS animal model was established by inoculating SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) into rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) through the nasal cavity. Pathological pulmonary changes were successively detected on days 5-60 after virus inoculation. All eight animals showed a transient fever 2-3 days after inoculation. Immunological, molecular biological, and pathological studies support the establishment of this SARS animal model. Firstly, SARS-CoV-specific IgGs were detected in the sera of macaques from 11 to 60 days after inoculation. Secondly, SARS-CoV RNA could be detected in pharyngeal swab samples using nested RT-PCR in all infected animals from 5 days after virus inoculation. Finally, histopathological changes of interstitial pneumonia were found in the lungs during the 60 days after viral inoculation: these changes were less marked at later time points, indicating that an active healing process together with resolution of an acute inflammatory response was taking place in these animals. This animal model should provide insight into the mechanisms of SARS-CoV-related pulmonary disease and greatly facilitate the development of vaccines and therapeutics against SARS