Comprehension of online consumer-generated product review: a construal level perspective

This study explores how consumers, who differ in their psychological distance toward the purchasing event (i.e., temporal distance) or toward product review writers (i.e., social distance), comprehend concrete or abstract reviews. Two experiments were conducted. The first experiment examined how a consumer’s perception of temporal distance, near future or distant future, would affect his/her comprehension of product reviews of varying abstractness. Results reveal that consumers of near temporal distance perceive concrete reviews to be more helpful. These consumers express a higher recall ability compared to counterparts of distant temporal distance. However, consumers of near temporal distance perceive abstract reviews to be less helpful and express a lower recall ability compared to those of distant temporal distance. The second experiment investigated how social distance, i.e., whether the review is written by someone who is perceived to be socially close to the reader would influence his/her comprehension of product reviews of varying abstractness. Results indicate that, with the provision of concrete reviews, consumers perceive non-significant difference of the review helpfulness under near and distant social distance and exhibit comparable recall ability. With the provision of abstract reviews, however, consumers of a near social distance recognize the reviews as helpful and recall the product better than did those of a distant social distance. This study presents a theoretically-driven and empirically-validated proposition to improve the presentation of product reviews to aid consumer review comprehension

The Moderating Effect Of E-Business Capability In The Relationship Between Market Orientation And Firm Performance

Building on multiple theoretical perspectives, we examined how e-business capability moderates the association of different dimensions of market orientation (i.e., customer, competitor, and inter-functional coordination orientation) and firm performance (i.e., financial, operational, and customer service performance). We tested hypotheses using survey data from senior executives in China. Our findings reveal that both customer orientation and inter-functional coordination can positively impact firm performance, while competitor orientation cannot affect firm performance significantly. Further, we found the complicated and interesting moderating effects of e-business capability on the multiple relationships between market orientation and firm performance. Specifically, e-business capability can strengthen the impact of customer orientation on financial and operational performance, but it weakens the relationship between competitor orientation and financial performance and the relationship between inter-functional coordination and customer service. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications of the study are discussed

Helpfulness of Online Review Content: The Moderating Effects of Temporal and Social Cues

This study advances our understanding of consumer evaluation of search product review content, which can vary in its concreteness, by considering contextual review cues that are often tagged to product review content. Anchoring on construal level theory, we differentiate two forms of contextual review cue—namely, temporal cue (i.e., when the review was posted) and social cue (i.e., who posted the review)—and posit their individual and joint moderation effects on the relationship between product review content and perceived review helpfulness. The experimental results reveal interesting insights. First, when the temporal cue indicates near distance, concrete product review content is perceived as more helpful. By contrast, abstract review content is perceived as more helpful when the temporal cue is distant. Second, social cues are non-instrumental in affecting the evaluation of concrete product review content; however, near social cues have bearings on the evaluation of abstract product review content. Third, we also find a significant joint effect of temporal and social cues on the relationship between product review concreteness and review helpfulness. The assessment of abstract reviews’ helpfulness is strengthened when both social and temporal cues reveal near psychological distance. This research contributes not only to the product review literature by providing integrated understanding of product review (i.e., considering both content and contextual cues), but also to construal level theory by identifying the moderating consequences of temporal and social cues as rooted in two dimensions of psychological distance

From IT Capabilities to Supply Chain Performance: The Mediating Effects of Supply Chain Agility and Absorptive Capacity

While information technologies have been taken as the competitive tool in improving supply chain performance, its investment cannot guarantee to meet firms’ performance expectations. Our understanding about the mechanisms by which IT affects supply chain performance remains unclear. Based on the perspective of dynamic capabilities theory, we derive a model to examine the effects of a firm’s IT capabilities, namely IT infrastructure flexibility and IT assimilation on supply chain performance. In particular, we examine the mediating effects of the firm’s higher-order organizational capabilities, namely supply chain agility and absorptive capacity on the relationships between IT capabilities and supply chain performance. Results from a survey show that the firm’s supply chain agility can fully mediate IT capabilities’ influence, while absorptive capacity partially mediate the influences of IT capabilities on supply chain agility. In addition, IT infrastructure flexibility can improve the firm’s IT assimilation. Contributions and implications of this study are discussed

DDAB-assisted synthesis of iodine-rich CsPbI3 perovskite nanocrystals with improved stability in multiple environments

© 2020 The Royal Society of Chemistry. All-inorganic cesium lead halide perovskite (CsPbX3, X = Cl, Br, I) nanocrystals (NCs) have attracted considerable attention due to their tunable optical properties and high optical quantum yield. However, their stability in various environments, such as different solvents, high temperature and UV light, remains to be addressed to enable their exploitation in devices. Here, we report on the synthesis of all inorganic CsPbI3 perovskite nanocrystals capped with didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB). Monodispersed DDAB-capped CsPbI3 NCs have enhanced stability with respect to their morphological and optical properties compared to conventional oleic acid (OA)/oleylamine (OLA) capped nanocrystals. The DDAB-CsPbI3 NCs retain an optical quantum yield >80% for at least 60 days. The enhanced stability is explained by the binding of branched DDAB ligands to the NC surface, leading to the formation of a halogen-rich surface, as confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, with an iodine to lead atomic ratio of I : Pb = 4 : 1. These perovskites were used in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and have a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 1.25% and a luminance of 468 cd m-2, and demonstrated improved operational performance. The enhanced stability of DDAB-CsPbI3 in the environments relevant for device processing and operation is relevant for their exploitation in optoelectronics

Rapid label-free identification of mixed bacterial infections by surface plasmon resonance

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Early detection of mixed aerobic-anaerobic infection has been a challenge in clinical practice due to the phenotypic changes in complex environments. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor is widely used to detect DNA-DNA interaction and offers a sensitive and label-free approach in DNA research.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this study, we developed a single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) amplification technique and modified the traditional SPR detection system for rapid and simultaneous detection of mixed infections of four pathogenic microorganisms (<it>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</it>, <it>Staphylococcus aureus</it>, <it>Clostridium tetani </it>and <it>Clostridium perfringens</it>).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We constructed the circulation detection well to increase the sensitivity and the tandem probe arrays to reduce the non-specific hybridization. The use of 16S rDNA universal primers ensured the amplification of four target nucleic acid sequences simultaneously, and further electrophoresis and sequencing confirmed the high efficiency of this amplification method. No significant signals were detected during the single-base mismatch or non-specific probe hybridization (<it>P </it>< 0.05). The calibration curves of amplification products of four bacteria had good linearity from 0.1 nM to 100 nM, with all R²values of >0.99. The lowest detection limits were 0.03 nM for <it>P. aeruginosa</it>, 0.02 nM for <it>S. aureus</it>, 0.01 nM for <it>C. tetani </it>and 0.02 nM for <it>C. perfringens</it>. The SPR biosensor had the same detection rate as the traditional culture method (<it>P </it>< 0.05). In addition, the quantification of PCR products can be completed within 15 min, and excellent regeneration greatly reduces the cost for detection.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our method can rapidly and accurately identify the mixed aerobic-anaerobic infection, providing a reliable alternative to bacterial culture for rapid bacteria detection.</p

gga-mir-133a-3p Regulates Myoblasts Proliferation and Differentiation by Targeting PRRX1

Non-coding RNAs play a regulatory role in the growth and development of skeletal muscle. Our previous study suggested that gga-mir-133a-3p was a potential candidate for regulating myoblast proliferation and differentiation in skeletal muscle. The purpose of our study was to reveal the regulatory mechanism of gga-mir-133a-3p in the proliferation and differentiation of chicken myoblasts. Through the detection of cell proliferation activity, cell cycle progression and EdU, we found that gga-mir-133a-3p can significantly inhibit the proliferation of myoblasts. In the process of myogenic differentiation, gga-mir-133a-3p is up-regulated, while gga-mir-133a-3p can significantly promote the up-regulation of differentiation-related muscle-derived factors, indicating that gga-mir-133a-3p can promote the differentiation of myoblasts. Validation at the transcriptional level and protein level proved that gga-mir-133a-3p can inhibit the expression of PRRX1, and the dual-luciferase assay also showed their direct targeting relationship. Correspondingly, PRRX1 can significantly promote myoblast proliferation and inhibit myoblast differentiation. In our study, we confirmed that gga-mir-133a-3p participates in the regulation of proliferation and differentiation of myoblasts by targeting PRRX1