Invisible-touch model: an integrative framework for postmerger integration

There is limited research into the postmerger integration (PMI) process in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CM&As) conducted by emerging-market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) in advanced economies. Although prior studies shed some light on the integration model adopted by EMNEs, the general pattern and process mechanisms of effective integration models remain unclear, which is in stark contrast with the ever-growing trend of EMNEs surging into developed countries via CM&As. What is the effective PMI model adopted by Chinese multinational enterprises in their CM&As in advanced countries? Hence, through the method of longitudinal and in-depth case study for theory building, this thesis seeks to explore the core characteristics, procedural mechanisms, and evolutionary pattern of the successful integration model adopted by Chinese multinational firms. The specific cases are chosen via the theoretical sampling method among major Chinese multinationals from the manufacturing industry that have effectively gone through the whole process of PMI for their CM&As in developed countries. The key contributions of this research are to develop an invisible-touch model and identify its core characteristics, process mechanisms, and evolutionary pattern. In Case Study One, we find that the primary characteristics of the invisible-touch model include surface-level inactive action and deep-level unity-in-diversity for the overall harmonious symbiosis. We hold that the distinction and complementarity between China and the West as a duality is one of the critical prerequisites for the success of the invisible-touch model, and integration governance capacity is the key to harnessing differences and complementarities. In Case Study Two, we identify that the appropriate leverage of conflicting yet complementary forces is imperative for value co-creation and co-capture in the context of CM&As. This is framed as the fundamental mechanism of invisible-touch model, as inspired by the perspective of Yin-Yang balancing as the core of traditional Chinese philosophies for the great insight of maintaining a healthy tension between independence and interdependence, and conflicting yet complementary forces. In Case Study Three, we investigate the evolutionary pattern of the invisible-touch model in serial CM&As. From the perspective of dynamic capabilities, we discover that the invisible-touch model will evolve overtime in both strategic and tactical CM&As, but no fundamental shifts have ever occurred. Hence, the invisible-touch model can be viewed as a long-term strategy for CM&As where the significant diversity in environmental conditions can induce new opportunities for potential contributions to international business research in the era of new globalisation. Overall, our main contribution is to propose an integrative PMI model from a holistic, dynamic, and duality-based perspective, which supplements the existing literature on the integration process of CM&As by EMNEs and extends research about M&As in the international business field. Moreover, we introduce several new concepts, such as, integration governance capacity, value co-creation and co-capture, and exploratory and exploitative dynamic capabilities, among others, into this research project, thus providing new insights into the research into PMI process, integration model, absorptive capacity, and cultural integration. The results of this thesis will broaden the understanding of international business in general, and the knowledge about PMI model for EMNEs in particular. This research also has substantial implications for managerial practices

Fast simulation of airfoil flow field via deep neural network

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has become an indispensable tool in the optimization design, and evaluation of aircraft aerodynamics. However, solving the Navier-Stokes (NS) equations is a time-consuming, memory demanding and computationally expensive task. Artificial intelligence offers a promising avenue for flow field solving. In this work, we propose a novel deep learning framework for rapidly reconstructing airfoil flow fields. Channel attention and spatial attention modules are utilized in the downsampling stage of the UNet to enhance the feature learning capabilities of the deep learning model. Additionally, integrating the predicted flow field values generated by the deep learning model into the NS equation solver validates the credibility of the flow field prediction results. The NACA series airfoils were used to validate the prediction accuracy and generalization of the deep learning model. The experimental results represent the deep learning model achieving flow field prediction speeds three orders of magnitude faster than CFD solver. Furthermore, the CFD solver integrated with deep learning model demonstrates a threefold acceleration compared to CFD solver. By extensively mining historical flow field data, an efficient solution is derived for the rapid simulation of aircraft flow fields

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae TALE proteins recruit OsTFIIAγ1 to compensate for the absence of OsTFIIAγ5 in bacterial blight in rice

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), the causal agent of bacterial blight (BB) of rice, uses transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) to interact with the basal transcription factor gamma subunit OsTFIIAγ5 (Xa5) and activates the transcription of host genes. However, how OsTFIIAγ1, the other OsTFIIAγ protein, functions in the presence of TALEs remains unclear. In this study, we show that OsTFIIAγ1 plays a compensatory role in the absence of Xa5. The expression of OsTFIIAγ1, which is activated by TALE PthXo7, increases the expression of host genes targeted by avirulent and virulent TALEs. Defective OsTFIIAγ1 rice lines show reduced expression of the TALE-targeted susceptibility (S) genes, OsSWEET11 and OsSWEET14, which results in increased BB resistance. Selected TALEs (PthXo1, AvrXa7 and AvrXa27) were evaluated for interactions with OsTFIIAγ1, Xa5 and xa5 (naturally occurring mutant form of Xa5) using biomolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) and microscale thermophoresis (MST). BiFC and MST demonstrated that the three TALEs bind Xa5 and OsTFIIAγ1 with a stronger affinity than xa5. These results provide insights into the complex roles of OsTFIIAγ1 and OsTFIIAγ5 in TALE-mediated host gene transcription

Effect of waste PET and CR as sand replacement on the durability and acoustical properties of semi dense asphalt (SDA) mixtures

Construction materials research is consistently striving to improve sustainability, in the reduction of virgin materials by use of otherwise landfilled materials of the same purpose. Crumb rubber (CR) from end-of-life tires and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from post-consumer liquid containers are two of the most commonly circulating forms of waste in the urban environment. This study investigated the replacement of semi-dense asphalt (SDA) sand by untreated mechanically shredded CR and PET, at 2.5 and 5.1% respectively by total mass of aggregates. The mixtures were evaluated by compactability, indirect tensile strength (ITS), fracture energy (FE), water sensitivity by ITS ratio (ITSR%), surface texture and acoustic absorption tests. After compaction, the CR and PET samples experienced an elastic rebound effect, which resulted in the air voids being higher than expected. Also, the PET samples required more compaction energy. The ITS, FE and ITSR% were significantly reduced with CR replacement, while the PET mixture performed similar to the control, especially in FE. The sound absorption was related more to the air voids than the material type, although the absorption coefficients of the SDA was not found to be significant. The CR reduced the texture level of the pavement significantly in comparison to the control, while texture level remained the same for the PET mixture, despite a difference in the porosity. Further studies were performed using a mixture replacing PET by aggregate volume at 5.1%, comparing it to the control SDA in terms of low temperature cracking and permanent deformation at 50 °C. While the compactability of the PET mixture was now similar to that of the control, the resistance to cracking and permanent deformation was lower. Although the PET mixture had some interesting ductility properties, the replacement of sand by CR and PET is not recommended, and the more common use as asphalt mixture modifiers with fairly low addition contents of around 1% is more sound

Urban mining for asphalt pavements: A review

The increasing consumption of natural resources for road construction and generation of urban waste materials are two global ecological problems. Urban mining aims to convert waste materials into raw materials for industrial production, and as a result, address both problems simultaneously. This study explores the potential of urban mining for asphalt pavement surface courses. In the first part, as each country/region has its unique challenge with waste materials, a screening method taking the EU and Switzerland as case studies is employed to select waste materials that potentially qualify for asphalt surface courses. The second part presents a review of laboratory studies regarding the performance of asphalt mixtures with selected waste materials. Based on the industrial experience, the third part dis- cusses the technology, specifications and cost considerations of asphalt surface courses with waste materials. Furthermore, the technical maturities for using waste materials are estimated in terms of technology readiness level (TRL). Overall, the paper demonstrates that various categories of waste ma- terials can be potentially used in asphalt surface courses, revealing urban mining opportunities. The selected waste materials may improve the performance of asphalt mixtures with optimization of several factors, such as the fraction size and amounts of waste materials for addition or replacement. The TRL results showed that using crumb rubber (wet process) and steel slag are currently more mature than using other waste materials in asphalt surface course

Obstacles Regions 3D-Perception Method for Mobile Robots Based on Visual Saliency

A novel mobile robots 3D-perception obstacle regions method in indoor environment based on Improved Salient Region Extraction (ISRE) is proposed. This model acquires the original image by the Kinect sensor and then gains Original Salience Map (OSM) and Intensity Feature Map (IFM) from the original image by the salience filtering algorithm. The IFM was used as the input neutron of PCNN. In order to make the ignition range more exact, PCNN ignition pulse input was further improved as follows: point multiplication algorithm was taken between PCNN internal neuron and binarization salience image of OSM; then we determined the final ignition pulse input. The salience binarization region abstraction was fulfilled by improved PCNN multiple iterations finally. Finally, the binarization area was mapped to the depth map obtained by Kinect sensor, and mobile robot can achieve the obstacle localization function. The method was conducted on a mobile robot (Pioneer3-DX). The experimental results demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm

Realizing stretch goals via exploratory bricolage: The case of Chinese entrepreneurial firms

Bricolage has been brought into entrepreneurship and innovation research since the early 2000s. Bricolage challenges the research-based view that the firm-specific competitive advantages are rooted in the ownership of valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable resources. The insight of exploratory bricolage is that innovators can conduct radical or disruptive innovations by reexamining the taken-for-granted assumptions. This chapter investigates how companies with severe resource constraints achieve stretch goals via ingenious methods. The Chinese style or pattern of innovation is argued to be unique in several aspects, and one of them is highlighted as a compositional approach. A fundamental paradox of entrepreneurship is the tension between a passionate entrepreneur’s stretch goal, i.e., goals that are seemingly impossible given his or her current resources or capabilities, and the serious lack of access to required resources or capabilities