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1 – 10 of over 2000Hao Chen, Xiaoming Zheng and Lijuan Liu
Ethical decision making, business ethics.
Abstract
Subject area
Ethical decision making, business ethics.
Study level/applicability
This case is applicable to MBA, EDP and EMBA courses.
Case overview
TOREAD, a professional provider of outdoor equipment in China, started in business by producing and selling tents. To meet market demand, TOREAD expanded its product line which ranges from outdoor durable tent products to “pan-outdoor” products including footwear and clothing. During the critical expansion phase, TOREAD was challenged by a quality problem in a batch of outsourced sandals that had been manufactured by a contracted supplier. By researching different options and going through an ethical decision making process, TOREAD made the choice of destroying all “problem sandals”. Since then, TOREAD has focused development on product quality improvement and product innovation to establish a sustainable brand image and generate social benefits. TOREAD's decision making in the critical development phase helped it to become the leader in the outdoor product industry in China.
Expected learning outcomes
This case may be used for courses such as business ethics and strategy. By learning this case, students can understand the process of making ethical decisions when facing moral dilemmas among corporate decision makers, employees and relevant interested parties, and learn how to make strategic decisions to balance company profit growth and social benefits in critical development phases.
Supplementary materials
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Keywords
Abstract
Purpose
Given the recent rapid economic development, the processes of industrialization and urbanization are accelerating. At the same time, the contradiction between environmental quality and economic development has become increasingly prominent and is likely to restrict the normal pace of China’s economic development and environmental protection. As such, the purpose of this paper is to incorporate the urbanization factor into an analytic framework to discuss the relationship among urbanization, economic development, and environmental pollution.
Design/methodology/approach
A panel data of 31 Chinese provinces from 2004 to 2015 is selected for this research. A spatial correlation test is first conducted on the environmental pollution status, then the spatial Durbin model is used to carry out spatial econometric testing of the relationship among the above three factors.
Findings
Interprovincial environmental pollution in China has significant positive spatial correlation, environmental pollution discharge in most provinces is significantly stable, discharge of environmental pollutants is transitioning from coastal to inland provinces, and urbanization and economic growth can both aggravate environmental pollution, but economic growth can relieve environmental pollution in neighboring provinces.
Originality/value
The relationship between economic growth, urbanization, and environmental quality has always been an important issue for sustainable development. As such, China’s urbanization leads to economic development, while rapid economic growth and environmental pollution are coordinated. This paper focuses on the specific relationship between them. To this end, local governments make concerted efforts to formulate sound environmental regulation policies based on local environmental conditions, where economic development is an effective means of alleviating the contradictory relationship between economic development and environmental protection.
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Malin Song, Jing Wang, Shuhong Wang and Danqing Zhao
The establishment of free trade zones (FTZs) is an important experiment as part of the reform and opening up policy. This paper aims to focus on the issue of production efficiency…
Abstract
Purpose
The establishment of free trade zones (FTZs) is an important experiment as part of the reform and opening up policy. This paper aims to focus on the issue of production efficiency of environmental protection enterprises in FTZs. Changes in the external and internal environments of enterprises can easily lead to changes in the production efficiencies of enterprises. The establishment of FTZs can change the external environment of enterprises. Knowledge accumulation changes the internal environment of enterprises. However, traditional efficiency analysis has usually ignored the internal and external heterogeneity of decision-making units, resulting in the distortion of the evaluation results.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper examines the relationship between knowledge accumulation and development potential based on financial data of environmental protection enterprises that were listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen A stocks, from 2009 to 2016. Then, through data envelopment analysis cross-efficiency analysis of the listed environmental protection enterprises from external heterogeneity, BP neural network model is set up.
Findings
The results show that the model set up in this paper is stable and reliable. The paper makes policy suggestions such as stimulating trade inside industry, quickening technological progress and enhancing environmental protection.
Originality/value
This paper analyzes the economy, environmental protection, science and technology and education to simulate the external environment of enterprises. Based on the experience data from the completion of Shanghai FTZ, this paper predicts the future development potential of Hainan FTZ enterprises.
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Fengwei Jing, Mengyang Zhang, Jie Li, Guozheng Xu and Jing Wang
Coil shape quality is the external representation of strip product quality, and it is also a direct reflection of strip production process level. This paper aims to predict the…
Abstract
Purpose
Coil shape quality is the external representation of strip product quality, and it is also a direct reflection of strip production process level. This paper aims to predict the coil shape results in advance based on the real-time data through the designed algorithm.
Design/methodology/approach
Aiming at the strip production scale and coil shape application requirements, this paper proposes a strip coil shape defects prediction algorithm based on Siamese semi-supervised denoising auto-encoder (DAE)-convolutional neural networks. The prediction algorithm first reconstructs the information eigenvectors using DAE, then combines the convolutional neural networks and skip connection to further process the eigenvectors and finally compares the eigenvectors with the full connect neural network and predicts the strip coil shape condition.
Findings
The performance of the model is further verified by using the coil shape data of a steel mill, and the results show that the overall prediction accuracy, recall rate and F-measure of the model are significantly better than other commonly used classification models, with each index exceeding 88%. In addition, the prediction results of the model for different steel grades strip coil shape are also very stable, and the model has strong generalization ability.
Originality/value
This research provides technical support for the adjustment and optimization of strip coil shape process based on the data-driven level, which helps to improve the production quality and intelligence level of hot strip continuous rolling.
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Keywords
Zhangxiang Zhu, Xiaoqian Zhang, Jing Wang and Sixuan Chen
The study aims to explore the effects of photograph quality on visual appeal, perceived usefulness and viewers' travel intentions from rational and irrational perspectives while…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to explore the effects of photograph quality on visual appeal, perceived usefulness and viewers' travel intentions from rational and irrational perspectives while simultaneously providing some references for the management and marketing of tourism destinations.
Design/methodology/approach
The study comprises four experiments combined with structural equation modeling to explore the influence mechanism of photograph quality on travel intentions.
Findings
(1) Higher-quality photographs offer greater visual appeal and perceived usefulness to viewers, and these relationships are moderated by the photograph source. Specifically, high-quality photographs generated by other tourists have more visual appeal and perceived usefulness to viewers. However, there are no significant differences in the impact of low-quality photographs generated by other tourists and destination marketing organizations (DMOs) on visual appeal and perceived usefulness. (2) Visual appeal and perceived usefulness significantly affect viewers' travel intentions, and visual appeal positively affects perceived usefulness. (3) Travel experience positively moderates the effects of visual appeal and perceived usefulness on viewers' travel intentions.
Originality/value
The study explores the effects of the visual appeal (irrational factor) and perceived usefulness (rational factor) associated with photograph quality on viewers' travel intentions. Photograph source and travel experiences have moderating effects on this influence mechanism.
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Zhangxiang Zhu, Yaxin Zhao and Jing Wang
This study aims to explore the relationship between the content characteristics of destination online reviews and travel intention under three individual circumstances: temporal…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the relationship between the content characteristics of destination online reviews and travel intention under three individual circumstances: temporal distance, social distance and experiential distance.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on construal-level theory (CLT), this study divides online travel reviews into concrete and abstract reviews. Three experiments were conducted to test the moderating effects of temporal distance, social distance and experiential distance on the influence of review content characteristics on tourists' travel intentions.
Findings
The results show that abstract reviews would lead to higher travel intentions than concrete reviews. Furthermore, tourists' travel intentions differed depending on social distance and were significantly affected by reviews posted by reviewers similar to review recipients. In addition, the study contributes by discovering that the moderating effects of temporal distance, social distance and experiential distance were not significant, which differs from most of the previous research conclusions.
Originality/value
This study focused on review content characteristics, which provided a novel perspective for constructing online travel reviews. Furthermore, this research defined the concept of experiential distance in the context of online travel and expanded the research on psychological distance.
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Peihua Dai, Mingming Feng and Jing Wang
The authors investigated the impacts of differentiated transformational leadership (TFL), including team-focused TFL and individual-focused TFL, on team creativity through the…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors investigated the impacts of differentiated transformational leadership (TFL), including team-focused TFL and individual-focused TFL, on team creativity through the mediating effect of team conflict, consisting of task conflict and relationship conflict.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors designed and conducted a close-to-reality experiment, enrolling 180 students and six professors from a large Chinese university. Student participants worked on a real marketing project and professor participants imitated the behaviors of transformational leaders. Using the computed values of team-focused TFL, individual-focused TFL, team creativity, task conflict and relationship conflict, the authors assessed the relationship among differentiated TFL, team creativity and team conflict.
Findings
Team-focused TFL has a significantly positive impact on team creativity through the mediating effect of task conflict, whereas individual-focused TFL has a significantly negative impact on team creativity through the mediating effect of relationship conflict.
Originality/value
From a new perspective of team conflict, the authors revealed the “black box” of the differentiated TFL–team creativity relationship. Moreover, other determinants were well controlled in the experiment, and thus, the authors effectively clarified the intervening mechanism of differentiated TFL on team creativity through the mediating effect of team conflict.
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Jinhua He, Jiaxin Xiang and Jing Wang
This study explores the influence of heritage brand extension on consumer purchase intention and analyses the effects of pop culture involvement. The extension of heritage brands…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the influence of heritage brand extension on consumer purchase intention and analyses the effects of pop culture involvement. The extension of heritage brands is becoming increasingly difficult because such an extension needs to be consistent with the unique characteristics of brands and resonate with consumers. However, few scholars discuss the influence of consumers' level of pop culture involvement on brand extension and purchasing behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
Taking time-honoured brands as an example, this study established a conceptual model based on a comprehensive review of the literature, and then tested the model using a sample of 255 respondents who were familiar with one of the selected Chinese time-honoured brands. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the relationships amongst brand extension fit, pop culture involvement, perceived value and purchase intention.
Findings
Time-honoured brand extension fit has a positive impact on consumer purchase intention, and this path is significantly influenced by the mediation mechanisms of perceived value. Situational pop culture involvement can significantly strengthen the relationship between time-honoured brand extension fit and perceived value, whereas enduring pop culture involvement does not.
Originality/value
The results clarify and expand on the different roles of cultural involvement in time-honoured brands and broaden research on the influence of cultural involvement in this regard. This study has significant theoretical value for the inheritance and revival of heritage brands and provides a reference for the practice of time-honoured brands.
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Mingyu Zhang, Jing Wang, Peiran Yang, Yi Liu, Zhaohua Shang and Longjie Dai
This study aims to investigate the influence of geometry of bush-pin pair from a perspective of optimal lubrication through a thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication model for…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the influence of geometry of bush-pin pair from a perspective of optimal lubrication through a thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication model for finite line contact.
Design/methodology/approach
A constitutive equation: Ree-Eyring fluid is used in the calculations. The real chain sizes, i.e. equivalent radius of curvature, bush length, length of the rounded corner area and rounded corner radius, are jointed investigated. Moreover, the effects of the length of the rounded corner area and the radius of rounded corner are investigated.
Findings
It is found that the current standard of the chain might not consider the importance of lubrication, and the lubrication state can be improved effectively by choosing an optimal radius of rounded corner and the length of the corner area.
Originality/value
By optimally selecting sizes, the occurrence of high pressure, high temperature rise and near zero film thickness at the ends of bush, especially under heavier load, can be effectively avoided.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-01-2020-0031/
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Keywords
Shun Cui, Hiroshi Nishikawa, Jing Wang and Qian Zou
This study aims to use a thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) algorithm incorporating an Eyring flow model to solve a steady-state contact in simple sliding motion.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to use a thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) algorithm incorporating an Eyring flow model to solve a steady-state contact in simple sliding motion.
Design/methodology/approach
A theoretical model was used to investigate the effect of starvation on the surface dimple phenomenon by gradually reducing the thickness of the inlet oil layer.
Findings
The increase in the starvation degree reduces the dimple depth, film thickness, the pressure peak and the temperature rise. Under the severe starvation condition, the dimple is eliminated so that the EHL contact becomes partly parched. In elliptical results, for the same starvation parameters, the oil replenishment is stronger than that in circular contact.
Originality/value
This paper fulfils an exploration to study how the oil starvation influences the surface dimple phenomenon.
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