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1 – 10 of over 4000Lili Gao, Xicheng Zhang, Xiaopeng Deng, Na Zhang and Ying Lu
This study aims to investigate the relationship between individual-level psychological resources and team resilience in the context of expatriate project management teams. It…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the relationship between individual-level psychological resources and team resilience in the context of expatriate project management teams. It seeks to understand how personal psychological resources contribute to team resilience and explore the dynamic evolution mechanism of team resilience. The goal is to enhance team resilience among expatriates in a BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, and Incomprehensible) world, where organizations face volatile and uncertain conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey was applied for data collection, and 315 valid samples from Chinese expatriates in international construction projects were utilized for data analysis. A structural equation model (SEM) examines the relationships between personal psychological resources and team resilience. The study identifies five psychological factors influencing team resilience: Employee Resilience, Cross-cultural Adjustment, Self-efficacy, Social Support, and Team Climate. The hypothesized relationships are validated through the SEM analysis. Additionally, a fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) is constructed to explore the dynamic mechanism of team resilience formation based on the results of the SEM.
Findings
The SEM analysis confirms that employee resilience, cross-cultural adjustment, and team climate positively impact team resilience. Social support and self-efficacy also have positive effects on team climate. Moreover, team climate is found to fully mediate the relationship between self-efficacy and team resilience, as well as between social support and team resilience. The FCM model provides further insights into the dynamic evolution of team resilience, highlighting the varying impact effects of antecedents during the team resilience development process and the effectiveness of different combinations of intervention strategies.
Originality/value
This study contributes to understanding team resilience by identifying the psychological factors influencing team resilience in expatriate project management teams. The findings emphasize the importance of social support and team climate in promoting team resilience. Interventions targeting team climate are found to facilitate the rapid development of team resilience. In contrast, interventions for social support are necessary for sustainable, long-term high levels of team resilience. Based on the dynamic simulation results, strategies for cultivating team resilience through external intervention and internal adjustment are proposed, focusing on social support and team climate. Implementing these strategies can enhance project management team resilience and improve the core competitiveness of contractors in the BANI era.
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Qing Wang, Xiaoli Zhang, Jiafu Su and Na Zhang
Platform-based enterprises, as micro-entities in the platform economy, have the potential to effectively promote the low-carbon development of both supply and demand sides in the…
Abstract
Purpose
Platform-based enterprises, as micro-entities in the platform economy, have the potential to effectively promote the low-carbon development of both supply and demand sides in the supply chain. Therefore, this paper aims to provide a multi-criteria decision-making method in a probabilistic hesitant fuzzy environment to assist platform-type companies in selecting cooperative suppliers for carbon reduction in green supply chains.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper combines the advantages of probabilistic hesitant fuzzy sets (PHFS) to address uncertainty issues and proposes an improved multi-criteria decision-making method called PHFS-DNMEREC-MABAC for aiding platform-based enterprises in selecting carbon emission reduction collaboration suppliers in green supply chains. Within this decision-making method, we enhance the standardization process of both the DNMEREC and MABAC methods by directly standardizing probabilistic hesitant fuzzy elements. Additionally, a probability splitting algorithm is introduced to handle probabilistic hesitant fuzzy elements of varying lengths, mitigating information bias that traditional approaches tend to introduce when adding values based on risk preferences.
Findings
In this paper, we apply the proposed method to a case study involving the selection of carbon emission reduction collaboration suppliers for Tmall Mart and compare it with the latest existing decision-making methods. The results demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method and the effectiveness of the introduced probability splitting algorithm in avoiding information bias.
Originality/value
Firstly, this paper proposes a new multi-criteria decision making method for aiding platform-based enterprises in selecting carbon emission reduction collaboration suppliers in green supply chains. Secondly, in this method, we provided a new standard method to process probability hesitant fuzzy decision making information. Finally, the probability splitting algorithm was introduced to avoid information bias in the process of dealing with inconsistent lengths of probabilistic hesitant fuzzy elements.
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Na Zhang, Yu Yang, Jiafu Su and Yujie Zheng
Because of the multiple design elements and complicated relationship among design elements of complex products design, it is tough for designers to systematically and dynamically…
Abstract
Purpose
Because of the multiple design elements and complicated relationship among design elements of complex products design, it is tough for designers to systematically and dynamically express and manage the complex products design process.
Design/methodology/approach
To solve these problems, a supernetwork model of complex products design is constructed and analyzed in this paper. First, the design elements (customer demands, design agents, product structures, design tasks and design resources) are identified and analyzed, then the sub-network of design elements are built. Based on this, a supernetwork model of complex products design is constructed with the analysis of the relationship among sub-networks. Second, some typical and physical characteristics (robustness, vulnerability, degree and betweenness) of the supernetwork were calculated to analyze the performance of supernetwork and the features of complex product design process.
Findings
The design process of a wind turbine is studied as a case to illustrate the approach in this paper. The supernetwork can provide more information about collaborative design process of wind turbine than traditional models. Moreover, it can help managers and designers to manage the collaborative design process and improve collaborative design efficiency of wind turbine.
Originality/value
The authors find a new method (complex network or supernetwork) to describe and analyze complex mechanical product design.
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Yi Zhong, Zhiqian Chen, Jinglei Ye and Na Zhang
This study aims to investigate the critical success factors of digital transformation in the construction industry and identify whether the respondents' profiles influence their…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the critical success factors of digital transformation in the construction industry and identify whether the respondents' profiles influence their perceptions of critical success factors for digital transformation.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the objectives, a literature review was first conducted based on technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework. Then a questionnaire survey was carried out. A total of 86 people were surveyed in this study, mainly from the construction industry. At the level of data processing, SPSS was used for analysis. Among the main tests used were the Shapiro–Wilk test, reliability analysis, mean rank analysis, Kruskal–Wallis test and Mann–Whitney U test.
Findings
The study identified 15 critical success factors of digital transformation and found the three most important factors of digital transformation. Furthermore, respondents with different years of experience, enterprises with different sizes and different years made no difference in the perception of factors. Respondents' different occupations and types of enterprises created a bias in the perception of factors for digital transformation.
Research limitations/implications
Firstly, the small sample size of the questionnaire limits the reference value of data analysis for certain groups. In addition, this study focuses broadly on construction enterprises without specifically examining different types of enterprises, thus lacking depth in its findings.
Practical implications
This study establishes a connection between TOE theory and the construction industry through an extensive literature review, identifying relevant factors and providing a reference for future research.
Originality/value
The study's results would enrich the research on digital transformation in the construction industry and provide a reference for the digital transformation of construction enterprises.
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Na Zhang, Haiyan Wang and Zaiwu Gong
Grey target decision-making serves as a pivotal analytical tool for addressing dynamic multi-attribute group decision-making amidst uncertain information. However, the setting of…
Abstract
Purpose
Grey target decision-making serves as a pivotal analytical tool for addressing dynamic multi-attribute group decision-making amidst uncertain information. However, the setting of bull's eye is frequently subjective, and each stage is considered independent of the others. Interference effects between each stage can easily influence one another. To address these challenges effectively, this paper employs quantum probability theory to construct quantum-like Bayesian networks, addressing interference effects in dynamic multi-attribute group decision-making.
Design/methodology/approach
Firstly, the bull's eye matrix of the scheme stage is derived based on the principle of group negotiation and maximum satisfaction deviation. Secondly, a nonlinear programming model for stage weight is constructed by using an improved Orness measure constraint to determine the stage weight. Finally, the quantum-like Bayesian network is constructed to explore the interference effect between stages. In this process, the decision of each stage is regarded as a wave function which occurs synchronously, with mutual interference impacting the aggregate result. Finally, the effectiveness and rationality of the model are verified through a public health emergency.
Findings
The research shows that there are interference effects between each stage. Both the dynamic grey target group decision model and the dynamic multi-attribute group decision model based on quantum-like Bayesian network proposed in this paper are scientific and effective. They enhance the flexibility and stability of actual decision-making and provide significant practical value.
Originality/value
To address issues like stage interference effects, subjective bull's eye settings and the absence of participative behavior in decision-making groups, this paper develops a grey target decision model grounded in group negotiation and maximum satisfaction deviation. Furthermore, by integrating the quantum-like Bayesian network model, this paper offers a novel perspective for addressing information fusion and subjective cognitive biases during decision-making.
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In the process of group decision-making, there may be multilayer subjects. In other words, members of the decision-making group may come from different layers and there is…
Abstract
Purpose
In the process of group decision-making, there may be multilayer subjects. In other words, members of the decision-making group may come from different layers and there is interest game among decision experts. Therefore, it is an extremely important topic to aggregate the information of decision experts who are involved in hierarchical relations and gaming relations so as to effectively address game conflicts and reach game cooperation.
Design/methodology/approach
First, a programming model is established to minimize the difference of expert opinions in hierarchical decision-making, and the method to solve the optimal solution is given. Second, the cooperative game model and its properties are discussed by using cooperative game and Shapley value, and the method to determine the weight vector between layers is also proposed.
Findings
This model can quickly aggregate information and achieve game equilibrium among decision-makers with hierarchical relationships. It can be widely used in decision evaluation with hierarchy structure and has certain practical value.
Originality/value
In order to solve the problem that experts at different levels may have conflicts of interest in multilayer grey situation group decision-making process, cooperative game and Shapley value theory are introduced into the study, and a multilayer grey situation group decision-making model based on cooperative game is constructed. The validity and practicability of the model are illustrated by an example.
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Na Zhang, Mengze Li, Haibing Ren and Yupeng Li
The development of complex products and systems is a continuously iterative process from customer requirements to a mature design. Design changes derived from multisources occur…
Abstract
Purpose
The development of complex products and systems is a continuously iterative process from customer requirements to a mature design. Design changes derived from multisources occur frequently during the design process. Furthermore, change propagation will impose impacts on design costs and lead times. In view of this, how to predict and control the propagation of multisource design change to reduce the changes impact is an urgent issue in the development of complex product.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, a new four-phase routing approach based on weighted and directed complex networks is proposed for multisource design change propagation. Phase I: as the foundation of this research, a product network model is established to quantify describe the complex product. Phase II: the hub nodes are identified based on the LeaderRank algorithm, which can be regarded as multisource nodes of design changes. Phase III: a calculation method for change propagation intensity is proposed, which improves the systematicness and accuracy of the evaluation results. In this paper, change propagation intensity is defined by four assessment factors: importance degree of parts, execution time of design tasks, coupling strength between parts and propagation likelihood. Phase IV: a routing method of multisource design change propagation and ant colony optimization algorithm are proposed in this paper, which can solve the coupling conflicts among change propagation paths and improve the search efficiency by using the parallel search strategy.
Findings
The proposed method and another method are used to search the optimal propagation path of multisource design change of a motorcycle engine; the results indicate that this method designed in this study has a positive effect on reducing the change impact, market response time and product design costs when design change occurs in the products design process.
Originality/value
The authors find a new method (a network-based four-phase routing approach) to search the optimal propagation path of multisource design change in complex products design.
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Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a valid and quantitative measurement method of knowledge diffusion efficiency for the knowledge collaboration networks (KCNs).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper builds a weighted KCN model with the node and edge weights. Based on the weighted KCN, the factors of knowledge diffusion efficiency are proposed and analyzed. Then, the knowledge transfer effect between two nodes is proposed and measured by comprehensively integrating the above factors. Furthermore, the main metric of efficiency of knowledge diffusion is proposed by modifying Latora and Marchiori’s model of efficiency of network.
Findings
A case is studied to illustrate the applicability of the proposed weighted network model and the knowledge diffusion efficiency measurement method. The results show the methods proposed in this paper can better measure and analyze the knowledge diffusion efficiency of KCNs than the traditional un-weighted methods and the subjective evaluation methods.
Originality/value
The real KCNs are always weighted networks. The weighted model of KCN can better reflect the real networks than the un-weighted model. Based on the weighted networks, the measurement methods proposed in this paper can more efficiently and accurately measure and evaluate the knowledge diffusion efficiency than the traditional methods. This study can help researchers to better understand knowledge diffusion theoretically, and provide managers with a decision support for knowledge management in practice.
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Na Zhang, Xiaopeng Deng, Bon-Gang Hwang and Yanliang Niu
Balancing interfirm relationships is important for firms’ long-term superior performance. However, prior studies mainly focus on interfirm competition or interfirm cooperation…
Abstract
Purpose
Balancing interfirm relationships is important for firms’ long-term superior performance. However, prior studies mainly focus on interfirm competition or interfirm cooperation separately, ignoring the balance of interfirm relationships. To bridge this gap in knowledge, this study aims to develop a framework to evaluate the balance of interfirm competition and interfirm cooperation and propose strategies to optimize a firm’s interfirm relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
After an in-depth literature review, a framework was developed for evaluating and optimizing the interfirm relationships. Taking the high-speed railway industry as an example, the proposed framework was implemented.
Findings
The results of the case confirm that the balancing of interfirm relationships can lead to more superior firm performance. Also, rather than mutual suppression, the interfirm competition and interfirm cooperation present a roughly positive relationship.
Originality/value
This study would contribute to the existing knowledge body by developing a framework for balancing interfirm relationships. Also, this study can aid practitioners in evaluating and optimizing their interfirm relationship structures.
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Na Zhang, Xiaopeng Deng, Bon-Gang Hwang, Muchao Bi and Amin Mahmoudi
This paper aims to develop a partner selection approach for the high-speed rail (HSR) firms from the perspective of achieving competitive advantage in the international…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to develop a partner selection approach for the high-speed rail (HSR) firms from the perspective of achieving competitive advantage in the international competitive bidding sphere.
Design/methodology/approach
The current study developed a partner selection approach based on the evolutionary game theory. Firstly, the current study identified the influencing variables and logical formation path of competitive advantage on the international HSR project by literature review and case analysis. After that, a pay-off model was developed based on the theoretical foundation. Meanwhile, the evolutionary stable strategy was analyzed for different combinations of initial pay-offs.
Findings
A real-world case was simulated to verify the effectiveness of the developed approach. The simulation results secured support from three industry professionals, indicating the developed approach is valid.
Originality/value
The current study can help HSR firms to select their partners and develop a cooperation strategy from the perspective of winning awards. Also, the proposed approach is based on the advantage driving variables and formation path, which can contribute to HSR firms' understanding of the sources of competitive advantage.
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