A Coevolutionary Journey of Strategic Knowledge Management Alignment: A Chinese Case

Although knowledge has emerged as the strategic resource of the firm in the increasingly turbulent and dynamic environment, it is underestimated how knowledge management (KM) contributes to sustained competitive advantage of the firm over time. Drawing upon a coevolutionary view of alignment, this study examines a strategic KM coevolutionary mechanism in which KM strategy, processes, and infrastructure dynamically align with the changing competitive strategy; in turn, the KM derived competitive advantage drives the firm to pursue a more superior position in its niche. To trace the coevolutionary mechanism, we conducted a case study in Li-Ning Company, which experiences 20 years’ development and has become a leading sports goods company in China. Two strategic transitions result in the corresponding changes of its KM strategy, KM processes and infrastructure. The cumulated knowledge helps the firm upgrade from an imitator to a prospector with balanced performance portfolio. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed

LEVERAGING E-GOVERNMENT FOR CITY TRANSFORMATION: A CASE STUDY OF DIGITAL WUYI

Seeing the scarcity of successful e-government programs in developing countries while a high failure rate reported on the opposite, this study investigates the success of \u27Digital Wuyi\u27 program in China. This study exhibits its ten-year roadmap in which the e-government has been continuously upgraded at a municipal level, spanning from e-government infrastructure and platform development, community informatization with rural priority, e-commerce development for pillar industry, to Internet of Things development. Further, this study identifies the key success factors and reflects the corresponding practices that lead Wuyishan City to achieve the success in e-government development. We find that sustainable and dynamic strategic planning, mayor\u27s leadership with entrepreneurships spirits and action learning, public-private partnership and modular promotion contribute much to the success of this municipal e-government project in China. Implications of this study can be derived for the municipal government development in China and other developing countries

Neuroglobin, a Novel Target for Endogenous Neuroprotection against Stroke and Neurodegenerative Disorders

Brain neurons and tissues respond to sublethal injury by activating endogenous protective pathways. Recently, following the failure of a large number of clinical trials for protective strategies against stroke that aim to inhibit a specific ischemia response pathway, endogenous neuroprotection has emerged as a more promising and hopeful strategy for development of therapeutics against stroke and neurodegenerative disorders. Neuroglobin (Ngb) is an oxygen-binding globin protein that is highly and specifically expressed in brain neurons. Accumulating evidence have clearly demonstrated that Ngb is an endogenous neuroprotective molecule against hypoxic/ischemic and oxidative stress-related insults in cultured neurons and animals, as well as neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, thus any pharmacological strategy that can up-regulate endogenous Ngb expression may lead to novel therapeutics against these brain disorders. In this review, we summarize recent studies about the biological function, regulation of gene expression, and neuroprotective mechanisms of Ngb. Furthermore, strategies for identification of chemical compounds that can up-regulate endogenous Ngb expression for neuroprotection against stroke and neurodegenerative disorders are discussed

A robust potential-based contact force solution approach for discontinuous deformation analysis of irregular convex polygonal block/particle systems

Contact interaction of two bodies can be modeled using the penalty function approach while its accuracy and robustness are directly associated with the geometry of contact bodies. Particularly, in the research fields of rock mechanics, we need to treat polygonal shapes such as mineral grains/particles at a mesoscale and rock blocks at a macroscale. The irregular shapes (e.g., polygons with small angles or small edges) pose challenges to traditional contact solution approach in terms of algorithmic robustness and complexity. This paper proposed a robust potential-based penalty function approach to solve contact of polygonal particles/block. An improved potential function is proposed considering irregular polygonal shapes. A contact detection procedure based on the entrance block concept is presented, followed by a numerical integral algorithm to compute the contact force. The proposed contact detection approach is implemented into discontinuous deformation analysis with an explicit formulation. The accuracy and robustness of the proposed contact detection approach are verified by benchmarking examples. The potential of the proposed approach in analysis of kinetic behavior of complex polygonal block systems is shown by two application examples. It can be applied in any discontinuous computation models using stepwise contact force-based solution procedures. © 2020, The Author(s)