Logistics innovation in China: the lens of Chinese Daoism

Innovation is vital for the logistics industry. This paper develops a Daoism-based conceptual model for logistics innovation in China. It identifies research gaps in this area and provides directions for future research. Following a content-based literature review methodology, 45 studies were selected. We identified five research themes: interpretation of logistics innovation; Chinese institutional environment for logistics innovation; innovation generation; innovation adoption; and innovation capability. We integrate the process view and outcome view of logistics innovation and propose that logistics capability, as an innovation outcome, is reflected and measured by innovation generation and adoption. This study is probably one of the first conceptual development papers on logistics innovation in China, providing a model for innovation within this context. It provides new avenues of research in this emerging, albeit important, area of research. Our conceptual framework utilizes Chinese Daoism philosophical thinking to provide a new lens for logistics innovation that is sensitive to the cultural environment

Development of optical phase evaluation techniques: Application to fringe projection and digital speckle measurement

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Manufacturing facility location and sustainability: A literature review and research agenda.

(Jan Olhager), [email protected] (Ou Keywords: Corporate social responsibility (CSR), Environment, Facility location, Manufacturing, Sustainability 2 Introduction The facility location problem has been around for a long time. In general, it concerns the geographical positioning of facilities for a specific organizational entity, such as a company. As such, it is a strategic decision related to the configuration of the manufacturing network. As competition becomes global and the complexity of the environment in which companies operate is increasing, managing an integrated international network has become an increasingly important task for managers 1995) and Procter & Gamble ( The literature on facility location can be broadly classified into two areas: factor assessment and mathematical approaches. The factor assessment approach often has a focus on strategic issues in decision making and it can be generalized into four steps: (i) establish the critical success factors of the business, (ii) assess options for regional manufacturing configurations, (iii) define a number of potential sites, and (iv) rank the most suitable solutions (Reid and Sanders, 2010). Implicitly, economic performance has been the driver for selecting critical success factors. Also, the mathematical approaches are typically formulated as cost minimization and profit maximization problems; cf. e.g. Consequently, it is becoming increasingly necessary for manufacturing firms to include all aspects and dimensions of sustainability in their manufacturing facility location decisions. Even when a facility is selected locally, there is need to integrate sustainability factors to reach economic, social, and environmental benefits from local innovation and collaboration with local customers and suppliers The research literature on the combination of manufacturing facility location and sustainability is still at an early stage but growing. We first present an overview of the literature review methodology. We then present the search strategy and the classification scheme, based on a content analysis. Then, the results of the literature review are presented. Finally, we present a conceptual framework and a research agenda. Methodology The core idea with a literature review is to summarize the state of the art in the subject field, Below we discuss the key steps in conducting the literature review, in terms of (i) the search strategy, and the content analysis in terms of (ii) literature over time, (iii) literature across journals, and (iv) categorization with respect to topical areas as well as research methodologies; cf

Achieving sustainability in global sourcing: towards a conceptual framework

Purpose This paper aims to set out the development, based on the extant literature, an integrated conceptual framework for the emergent field of sustainable global sourcing (GS) that synthesizes its antecedents, GS practices and sustainable performance. Design/methodology/approach Conceptual theory building combined with content analysis is used to develop a framework and propositions representing a middle-range theory of sustainable GS. A literature review of the 89 most influential papers is followed by a further discussion based on the resource orchestration perspective (ROP) to advance an integrated conceptual framework. Findings Three main themes are identified from the literature as antecedents, GS practices and sustainable performance, with each theme being detailed in a variety of constructs. Based on the ROP, the relationships between these constructs are revealed, and therefore, an integrated conceptual framework is advanced via three sets of propositions in recourse orchestration breadth, recourse orchestration depth and resource orchestration evolution, respectively. Eight directions for future research are further proposed. Originality/value First, this study provides a comprehensive framework for future study in the emergent field of sustainable GS. Second, the authors contribute to theory development by proposing a ROP to explore the GS practices towards sustainability. Third, the future research directions we proposed can benefit scholars interested in the overlapping areas of GS and sustainability

Determinants of Capital Structure: An empirical study of UK firms

Capital structure has been one of the most controversial issues in the ground of finance during past years. There are a number of existing theories and empirical studies observing patterns involved in choosing a capital structure, however until now, there is no universal one. With the objective to provide an insight into determinants influence a firm's level of debt, we apply ANOVA and multiple regression analysis of secondary data on 80 UK public companies operating in 10 industries. In addition, the study on the impacts of revised IAS 19 on pension deficit makes this dissertation differentiated from existing ones. We divide the time span into pre-pension scheme period 2001-2004 and post-pension scheme 2005-2006 to examine how the adjustment at balance sheet affects firm's capital structure. The study demonstrates a disparity between empirical results and theoretical predictions. Overall, the model has a relatively low explanatory power and most of variables themselves show a conflicting sings and levels of significance in terms of long-term and short-term debt ratios. Growth rate, firm size, tax shields and asset compositions are significantly correlated to particular type of debt in different time period. In addition, firms do adjust their leverage ratios facing the disclosure of pension fund as a part of long-term liability. This research provides analysis tools for financial managers when looking to raise capital and assists managers with indications of what the market is anticipating. However, unavoidable research limitations suggest further studies

Logistics innovation in China: the lens of Chinese Daoism

Innovation is vital for the logistics industry. This paper develops a Daoism-based conceptual model for logistics innovation in China. It identifies research gaps in this area and provides directions for future research. Following a content-based literature review methodology, 45 studies were selected. We identified five research themes: interpretation of logistics innovation; Chinese institutional environment for logistics innovation; innovation generation; innovation adoption; and innovation capability. We integrate the process view and outcome view of logistics innovation and propose that logistics capability, as an innovation outcome, is reflected and measured by innovation generation and adoption. This study is probably one of the first conceptual development papers on logistics innovation in China, providing a model for innovation within this context. It provides new avenues of research in this emerging, albeit important, area of research. Our conceptual framework utilizes Chinese Daoism philosophical thinking to provide a new lens for logistics innovation that is sensitive to the cultural environment

Fiber Optic Projection-Imaging System for Shape Measurement in Confined Space

A fiber-based projection-imaging system is proposed for shape measurement in confined space. Owing to the flexibility of imaging fibers, the system can be used in special scenarios that are difficult for conventional experimental setups. Three experiments: open space, closed space, and underwater are designed to demonstrate the strength and weakness of the system. It is shown that when proper alignment is possible, relatively high accuracy can be achieved; the error is less than 2% of the overall height of a specimen. In situations where alignment is difficult, significantly increased error is observed. The error is in the form of gross-scale geometrical distortion; for example, flat surface is reconstructed with curvature. In addition, the imaging fibers may introduce fine-scale noise into phase measurement, which has to be suppressed by smoothing filters. Based on results and analysis, it is found that although a fiber-based system has its unique strength, existing calibration and processing methods for fringe patterns have to be modified to overcome its drawbacks so as to accommodate wider applications

Student-centric Model of Learning Management System Activity and Academic Performance: from Correlation to Causation

In recent years, there is a lot of interest in modeling students' digital traces in Learning Management System (LMS) to understand students' learning behavior patterns including aspects of meta-cognition and self-regulation, with the ultimate goal to turn those insights into actionable information to support students to improve their learning outcomes. In achieving this goal, however, there are two main issues that need to be addressed given the existing literature. Firstly, most of the current work is course-centered (i.e. models are built from data for a specific course) rather than student-centered; secondly, a vast majority of the models are correlational rather than causal. Those issues make it challenging to identify the most promising actionable factors for intervention at the student level where most of the campus-wide academic support is designed for. In this paper, we explored a student-centric analytical framework for LMS activity data that can provide not only correlational but causal insights mined from observational data. We demonstrated this approach using a dataset of 1651 computing major students at a public university in the US during one semester in the Fall of 2019. This dataset includes students' fine-grained LMS interaction logs and administrative data, e.g. demographics and academic performance. In addition, we expand the repository of LMS behavior indicators to include those that can characterize the time-of-the-day of login (e.g. chronotype). Our analysis showed that student login volume, compared with other login behavior indicators, is both strongly correlated and causally linked to student academic performance, especially among students with low academic performance. We envision that those insights will provide convincing evidence for college student support groups to launch student-centered and targeted interventions that are effective and scalable.Comment: 43 pages, 9 figures, 18 tables, Journal of Educational Data Mining (Initial Submission

Leveraging social media in new product development: organisational learning processes, mechanisms and evidence from China

Purpose The main purpose of this paper is to investigate how social media can provide important platforms to facilitate organisational learning and innovation in new product development (NPD) process. Design/methodology/approach Using a multiple case-study approach, this study assesses qualitative data collected via 56 interviews from 13 world-leading Chinese companies in the high-technology industry. Findings The study identified three distinct types of organisational learning mechanisms for firms to extract potential innovation inherent in social media. It further determined various organisational enablers that facilitate the connections between these mechanisms and NPD performance. Research limitations/implications This research contributes to the emerging literature on digital product development and organisational learning. The cases were conducted in the Chinese context, hence, the results may not be fully generalisable to other organisations, industries and countries without appropriate re-contextualisation. Practical implications The empirical evidence showcases the various mechanisms adopted by managers in different NPD phases. It identifies several technological and organisational adaptations that managers can apply to smartly scale their social presence and facilitate NPD. Originality/value Despite the exponential growth of social media use in identifying and interacting with external stakeholders, managerial practice and academic research have paid little attention to how social media can be leveraged for NPD. The value of this research comes from applying a qualitative method to gain in-depth insights into the mechanisms for leveraging social media to facilitate innovation in NPD

Research on Dissemination Rule of Public Opinion from SNA Perspective: Taking the Vaccine Safety Event as an Example

With the rapid development of social media, the dissemination of health information has attracted more attention from people. To reveal the rule and mode of information diffusion path is the key to effective crisis prevention and control of information. In this paper, the team took the vaccine safety events as an example, selected and analyzed two hottest microblogs from each phase of one event. The team did visual analysis via Zhiwei which was one academic micro data analysis platform, and utilized social network analysis (SNA) to explore the propagating rules of public opinion