Competitive Capabilities Research Articles

A level-set method with a multiplicative–additive constraint model for image segmentation and bias correction

The intensity inhomogeneity phenomenon often appears in actual images, making their segmentation challenging. To efficiently segment such images, a level-set (LS) method with a multiplicative–additive constraint model is proposed. First, based on the observed image intensity property and the multiplicative–additive model, we define the dual bias fields, which explain the full nature of intensity inhomogeneities. Considering the ill condition of the model, herein, we further impose reasonable constraints while ensuring smooth change of dual bias fields within a predefined range. Additionally, we employ an increasing-sequence strategy in the numerical method to ensure balance between the constraint effect and LS evolution, further improving the robustness of our model. When compared with the traditional single bias–field models, our model presents more competitive capabilities. The experimental results on various images validate that compared with the state-of-the-art LS models, our model exhibits better performance in terms of accuracy and robustness.

The Impact of Covid-19 on the Cash Flow of Food and Beverage Industry

Purpose: The food and beverage industry is one of the industries that has its own specific products in the manufacturing industry, and it is indispensable for a developing economy. Therefore, research on the impact of Covid-19 on the movement of cash flows in food and beverage companies is necessary to better understand the status of manufacturing enterprises. Design/methodology/approach: To examine the impacts of Covid-19 on cash flow of food and beverage companies, the researchers used financial data from the Fiin Pro database of 33 Vietnamese food and beverage companies over 6 years from 2017 to 2022. The study used the regression model analysis data regression analysis with the Feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) method by using the multi-regression model developed by the previous studies. Findings: To examine the impacts of Covid-19 on cash flow of food and beverage companies, the researchers used financial data from the Fiin Pro database of 33 Vietnamese food and beverage companies over 6 years from 2017 to 2022. The study used the regression model analysis data regression analysis with the Feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) method by using the multi-regression model developed by the previous studies. Research limitations/implications: Firstly, the study only utilizes model adjustment through FGLS but does not address the endogeneity phenomenon. Secondly, the study only focuses on developing countries without comparison to developed countries. Therefore, the authors propose some implications for future research. Firstly, studies could continue to expand on examining the endogeneity phenomenon. Secondly, research could broaden its scope to include other developing countries for a deeper comparison. Originality/value: The research will help food and beverage industry enterprises predict cash flow within the company when a crisis like COVID-19 occurs. This will assist enterprises in better preparing for business operations and enhancing competitive capabilities during crisis periods.

Community Empowerment at Cirendeu Cassava MSMEs Based on the Penthahelix Collaboration Model

MSMEs are an important part of the economy in Indonesia, marked by their contribution in reducing unemployment by absorbing labor. Cassava Multipurpose MSMEs in Cirendeu Traditional Village are also required to be able to innovate in marketing and product innovation produced in order to remain competitive against changing times. Some of the problems of Cirendeu's Multipurpose Cassava MSMEs are still in terms of the limitations of MSME actors to innovate such as the lack of innovation in processed products from cassava, still traditional packaging and conventional marketing. MSME development needs to be carried out in improving and fostering competitive capabilities. Therefore, the involvement of various actors will help the development run optimally. Through pentahelix synergy, which is cooperation between stakeholders consisting of academy, business, government, community, and media. This research aims to find out and describe community empowerment with the pentahelix model in the development of MSMEs. The method used in the research is descriptive qualitative through interviews, documentation and literature study. The results showed that the development of MSMEs has involved five actors in the pentahelix model, namely academics, business, community, government, and media.

Service Performance Measurement Using the Supply Chain Operation Reference Model in The Events and Travel Industry

Objective: This study aims to measure the performance of supply chain services using the Supply Chain Operation Reference (SCOR) Version 11.0 model in the events and travel industry. Design/Methods/Approach: The Supply Chain Operation Reference (SCOR) version 11.0 framework was employed to measure the performance of supply chain services. The performance indicators were assigned weights using the Analytical Hierarchy Process in Expert Choice Software. The performance achievements were marked using the traffic light system method, and an Action Plan was suggested for the company to improve its performance. Findings: The present study found 17 performance indicators consisting of 4 Plan performance attributes, 5 Source performance attributes, 3 Make performance attributes, 2 Deliver performance attributes, 2 Return performance attributes, and 1 Enable performance attribute. The weighting of each indicator resulted in the weight values for each activity from highest to lowest order, namely, Plan (0.317), Enable (0.297), Deliver (0.225), Source (0.95), Make (0.44), and Return (0.22). The performance measurement using a scoring system with the "larger is better" method and marking achievements through the traffic light system resulted in the company's aggregation value of 78%, indicating that the company still needs improvements in its supply chain service process even though the company's performance achievement is quite good. Originality: This research presents a new perspective on using SCOR-based performance measurement in service companies to become the basis for strategic decision-making and lead companies to achieve their competitive capabilities. Practical/Policy implication: The SCOR framework in every company business activity will provide a comprehensive view of the service supply chain as evaluation material for the company's service supply chain.

DeepFGRN: inference of gene regulatory network with regulation type based on directed graph embedding.

The inference of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) from gene expression profiles has been a key issue in systems biology, prompting many researchers to develop diverse computational methods. However, most of these methods do not reconstruct directed GRNs with regulatory types because of the lack of benchmark datasets or defects in the computational methods. Here, we collect benchmark datasets and propose a deep learning-based model, DeepFGRN, for reconstructing fine gene regulatory networks (FGRNs) with both regulation types and directions. In addition, the GRNs of real species are always large graphs with direction and high sparsity, which impede the advancement of GRN inference. Therefore, DeepFGRN builds a node bidirectional representation module to capture the directed graph embedding representation of the GRN. Specifically, the source and target generators are designed to learn the low-dimensional dense embedding of the source and target neighbors of a gene, respectively. An adversarial learning strategy is applied to iteratively learn the real neighbors of each gene. In addition, because the expression profiles of genes with regulatory associations are correlative, a correlation analysis module is designed. Specifically, this module not only fully extracts gene expression features, but also captures the correlation between regulators and target genes. Experimental results show that DeepFGRN has a competitive capability for both GRN and FGRN inference. Potential biomarkers and therapeutic drugs for breast cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer and coronavirus disease 2019 are identified based on the candidate FGRNs, providing a possible opportunity to advance our knowledge of disease treatments.

Autonomy as a Strategic Dial: A Dynamic Framework for Managing Acquired Subsidiaries

Managing acquired subsidiaries can be daunting. Parent and affiliate executives strive to co-create value, but fixed mindsets around subsidiary autonomy can result in diverging interests and outcomes. Through a longitudinal study of Audi’s post-acquisition integration of supercar manufacturer Lamborghini, this article provides guidance on how to manage the level of acquired subsidiary autonomy as a strategic dial that can be dynamically adjusted over time for mutual benefit. This dynamic approach to autonomy rests on three specific managerial levers—appraisal respect, organizational identity, and resource orchestration. These can enable the renewal of competitive capabilities and sustain post-acquisition success.

الاقتصاد الريعي وأثره على القدرة التنافسية للصادرات السلعية في الاقتصاد العراقي للمدّة (2004-2021)

The issue of competitiveness occupies wide interest in international economies, especially with the developments represented by globalization and global economic integration, as well as policies of openness and market liberalization. Because the concept of competitiveness goes beyond the state’s ability to produce goods and services that compete in the world to the challenges that enable the state to produce goods and services and offer them in local and international markets. Thus, competitiveness as a concept is linked to export capabilities, the global trade climate, and the state’s ability to access global markets. The respiratory capabilities of any country are linked to the extent of production capabilities and the nature of goods and services that can be exported, and in the Iraqi economy, in which the oil sector dominates the largest proportion of its exports, and this growing proportion of oil exports affects the competitive capabilities of commodity exports significantly, meaning that the competitive capabilities of commodity exports in the Iraqi economy are dependent on Its development and increasing proportions in the oil sector and its export rates. Hence the topic of research came: the rentier economy and its impact on the competitiveness of commodity exports for the period (2004-2021) in the Iraqi economy

Strategies to improve the isochrone algorithm for ship voyage optimisation

ABSTRACT An optimisation algorithm is an essential part of voyage planning systems to achieve autonomous and intelligent operations. Various algorithms have been proposed for voyage planning to minimise fuel consumption and increase punctuality. Among them, the isochrone method has been recognised for its robustness and efficiency in voyage optimizations. This paper improves it to overcome its incompetence in multi-objective optimisation and reliable route convergence towards the destination. Five improved methods are proposed and compared, to investigate the most effective enhancing strategy to achieve robustness and practicality in real-time application. By changing search space after the middle stage of the voyage, and formulating an augmented cost function to refine search criteria according to different optimisation objectives, one improved isochrone method (named Isochrone-A*) shows more competitive capability, with potential in real-time implementations. The effectiveness and efficiency of these five improved strategies are compared using four ocean-crossing voyages collected by a chemical tanker.

Optimization of Cutting Large Amounts of Dense Material

The effective operation of any manufacturing enterprise cannot be achieved without optimal allocation of available resources. Efficient distribution of input materials, entering production, and procurement costs are significant parts of production costs. One of the primary requirements to ensure a given company's production efficiency and competitive capability is its optimization. An area within this context is the distribution of, for instance, dense material required for constructing concrete structures such as bridges, roads, buildings, and more. When cutting dense material, it is necessary to create a plan for optimal cutting to minimize waste. This paper aims to create a methodology for optimizing the cutting of metal rods with the goal of waste reduction. The software MS Excel and Python solutions have been developed and used based on the methods employed. The computed solutions can serve as a foundation for creating a data repository, which holds information about purchased materials and realized production and material remnants that can be utilized in subsequent cutting. Elements of the data repository will encompass cutting plans and remnants resulting from the implementation of calculated cutting plans. The data repository enables a multidimensional view for managing the cutting process.

Strengthening the competitiveness of presto milkfish through increasing entrepreneurial spirit and packaging innovation

MSMEs play a crucial role in the Indonesian economy, absorbing 97% of the total workforce. Despite the significant contribution of MSMEs to the Indonesian economy, there is a lack of competitive capabilities among them. One of the MSME products in Jember Regency that currently demands attention is presto milkfish. However, there are several issues, including the suboptimal entrepreneurial spirit among MSME players and unattractive product packaging. To address these challenges, it is essential to enhance the value and skills in packaging design for presto milkfish products. The activity involved delivering material on the value of entrepreneurship and providing training in creating packaging designs for presto milkfish products. The results of the service activities indicate an increased awareness and instillation of entrepreneurial values among presto milkfish MSMEs, as shown by questionnaires filled out before and after the training. The participants' knowledge has improved, leading to increased motivation to operate their businesses. MSME players have successfully designed their product packaging and implemented it in their businesses.

A Methodological Research on Evaluating Competitive Capability and Growth Rate of Basketball Players

This paper aims to conduct a quantitative analysis of the factors influencing the growth rate of basketball players. To achieve this goal, the paper adopts a method of entropy weight combined with ideal solution approximation comprehensive evaluation method, to analyze the growth rate of the athletes. Furthermore, to explore the relationship between various factors and the players’ growth rate, a backpropagation (BP) neural network is utilized to fit the impact level of each independent variable and the dependent variable. Therefore, the method proposed in this paper can provide a more accurate, practical, and flexible evaluation method for ranking basketball players, thus supporting training, and offering reference for other similar sports competitions.

Competitive capabilities and firm performance: A study among small rural firms

Manufacturing micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in a developing country plays a distinctive and decisive role in its economic development. Despite its importance, various challenges confront these units, dragging them to the point of closure. Consequent to such sudden shocks to the economy, and resource deficiencies, these units become unable to develop competencies crucial to their sustenance. The present research purports to study whether MSMEs in the manufacturing sector employ capabilities of innovation, human resource practices (HRP), information and communication technology (ICT), and intellectual property rights (IPR) that are vital to improving their performance. The study employs the theory of resource-based view (RBV) to identify the specific capabilities that make manufacturing MSMEs competitive, as reflected through better firm performance. A regression analysis is performed among 90 manufacturing MSMEs to determine the relationship between capabilities and firm performance (combined and individual). The capabilities that significantly and positively contribute to firm performance are found to be competitive, and vice versa. The findings unambiguously reveal that MSMEs in rural areas are at a stage of developing competencies; albeit the pace being relatively slow.

Design and Fabrication of Annular-Array Ultrasound Transducer Based (K, Na) NbO3 Lead-Free 1-3 Piezoelectric Composite.

This article reports the design, fabrication, and performance of an annular-array ultrasound transducer using (K, Na)NbO3 (KNN)-based lead-free 1-3 piezoelectric composite. The 1-3 piezoelectric composite based on lead-free 0.965(K0.45Na0.55)(Nb0.96Sb0.04)O3-0.035 Bi0.5Na0.5Zr0.85Hf0.15O3 (KNNS-BNZH) was first prepared with the dice-and-fill method. Different from previous reported studies, by patterning annular electrodes on this kind of 1-3 composite, a five-element annular-array transducer in diameter of 6 mm was designed and successfully fabricated and its working center frequency was increased from 5 MHz to around 15 MHz. Meanwhile, a -6 dB bandwidth of 50% was achieved for each annular-array element via a pulse-echo response measurement. Moreover, the obtained annular-array transducer exhibits low crosstalk (<-40 dB) and a high electromechanical coupling coefficient of around 0.7. The application of ultrasonic imaging was further demonstrated to show its excellent performance. Both theoretical analysis and experimental results show that the obtained annular-array transducer presented in this work has a competitive capability for ultrasonic application.

Competitive capabilities of higher education institutions from their Employees' perspectives: A case study of King Khalid University.

This study aimed to uncover the competitive advantages of King Khalid University (KKU) as a higher educational institution and identify the strategies needed to strengthen its competitive stance through a qualitative case study approach. Data were collected via detailed interviews with 30 university staff, comprising 19 faculty members and 11 academic leaders. Following this, the data were qualitatively analyzed using MAXQDA 2022 software. The results showed that KKU has 30 sub-competitive strengths, including work ethics, future vision, academic excellence, creativity, teamwork, respect for intellectual property, continuous customer-focused improvement, a positive workplace environment, organizational trust, and the ability to attract international students. Additionally, the study identified 8 challenges hindering KKU's advancement in global university rankings, spanning academic, human, and administrative areas. To improve its standing in international rankings, thematic analysis revealed 11 strategies to enhance KKU's competitiveness. These include aligning academic programs with job market demands, enhancing research facilities, boosting funding for academic and research endeavors, fostering international academic and scientific partnerships, and upgrading the technological infrastructure for academics and administration. The analysis underscores the need for KKU to adopt a comprehensive suite of academic, human, and administrative strategies to bolster its competitive position. This is crucial for KKU's rise in global university rankings and its alignment with the National Vision 2030, aiming to place over five Saudi universities among the top 100 or 200 globally.

The Prominent Role of Hat Chap Cai Luong Arts in Tourist Attraction to Thoi Son Island, Tien Giang Province

The purpose of this article is to study and analyze the current development and utilization of cultural and artistic tourism products on Thoi Son Island, Tien Giang Province. The article focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of incorporating don ca tai tu music (a genre of chamber music in the traditional music of southern Vietnam) in serving tourism activities in recent times and identifying existing issues in the development process of these cultural and artistic tourism products. In addition to discussing the advantages and competitive capabilities of Thoi Son Island, the article also proposes suitable solutions for the development of cultural and artistic tourism products in the locality, particularly the application and promotion of the art of hat chap cai luong (one of the traditional theater opera plays in southern Vietnam) combined with storytelling for tourism purposes. The research methodology employed in the article combines both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The quantitative part of the research will concentrate on collecting data on tourist numbers, income from cultural and artistic tourism activities, and tourist satisfaction. The qualitative part will involve conducting interviews, surveys, and gathering opinions from experts and local residents to gain a better understanding of the issues related to cultural and artistic tourism products featuring cai luong singing on Thoi Son Island. The research findings indicate that incorporating the art of hat chap cai luong into tourism activities is effective. However, several issues have been identified that need to be addressed, such as diversifying cultural and artistic tourism products, protecting and promoting the local cultural values, and ensuring the ability to meet the future demand for cultural tourism products without causing harm.

Innovative work behavior capability and job enthusiasm for excellence on proactive job effectiveness of employees in the Thai telecommunications equipment sector

This research aimed to study the effect of innovative work behavior capability and job enthusiasm for excellence on proactive job effectiveness of employees in the Thai telecommunications equipment sector. Questionnaires were used to collect data and random sampling was used to select samples from 110 Thai telecommunications equipment sector employees. Correlation, research, and multiple regression analysis were used to statistically analyze data. The study results were as follows: 1) innovative work behavior capability consisting of promoting learning and enhancing skills, technology adoption and development, dissemination of knowledge skills for change, and promoting fair rewards had a significant positive influence on both job enthusiasm for excellence and proactive job effectiveness. 2) job enthusiasm for excellence had a significant positive influence on proactive job effectiveness. In summary, the innovative work behavior capability and job enthusiasm for excellence had a significant positive influence on proactive work effectiveness of employees in the Thai telecommunications equipment sector. Therefore, it was recommended that the management focuses on innovative work behavior capability, job enthusiasm for excellence, and proactive work efficiency. This should be a guideline for developing new knowledge and could be applied to increase efficiency and effectiveness of competitive capability, which continuously changes.&#x0D;

Impact of strategic HR practices on innovation performance: examining the mediation of differentiation and cost-effectiveness

PurposeInnovation is critical for businesses to stay competitive in today's world, as it allows them to constantly look for new ways to differentiate their products or services from their competitors as well as improve cost-effectiveness. This study explore the role of strategic human resource practices in developing organizations' competitive capabilities-differentiation and cost-effectiveness, which, improves their innovation performance to create a competitive advantage.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected data from 387 employees from 25 knowledge-intensive information technology organizations in India through a questionnaire-based survey. After checking for biases, reliability and validity, the hypothesized relationships were tested by structural equational modeling using AMOS 26.FindingsStrategic HR practices have a significant and positive effect on innovation performance and both competitive capabilities-differentiation and cost-effectiveness. While the differentiation capability had a strong positive effect on innovation performance, cost-effectiveness capability was not significantly related to innovation performance. The differentiation capability mediates the relationship between strategic HR practices and innovation performance link, whereas the cost-effectiveness capability did not have a mediating effect.Practical implicationsThis study provides practical insights to HR and knowledge managers to focus on development of human capital and invest in hiring, training, development, strategic performance management practices to enhance employees' knowledge behaviors, which, stimulates innovation performance.Originality/valueThe paper adds to the strategic HRM paradigm by clarifying the underlying process of how strategic HR practices leads to higher innovation. It affirms the vitality of choosing appropriate competitive capabilities, and supporting organizational factor for business's success. It fills an important research gap by providing original empirical evidence from knowledge intensive information technology organizations in the emerging economy of India.

The Role of the Elements of Total Quality Management in Improving Banking Services) Applied Study at Khaleeji Commercial Bank)

The research aims to demonstrate the importance of adopting the philosophy of total quality management in improving banking services and identifying the dimensions of total quality management in banking institutions. As for its importance, it is manifested through the knowledge, understanding and application of total quality management by providing the requirements for the application of this philosophy in banking institutions according to recent developments in information technology in order to be able to improve their performance. The analytical study approach was adopted in the research and the use of the questionnaire tool in the study curriculum was adopted to analyze the opinions of the research sample that were applied in al Khaleeji Commercial Bank regarding the elements of total quality management available in the organization in question. Through the use of some statistical methods in the analysis, which are the extraction of frequencies, arithmetic mean and standard deviation normative as well as materiality. The research hypotheses were tested by using the correlation coefficient and simple regression model. The most important conclusions that the research reached is the importance of applying total quality in any organization because it can achieve an increase in competitive capabilities and support for a culture of quality and continuous improvement. To take advantage of the opportunities available to the organization through the application of scientific methods and tools that contribute to identifying problems and finding appropriate treatments for them. As well as the existence of a moral, linear relationship between the elements of total quality management and the improvement of banking services. The research came out with recommendations, including that organizations should work to promote and disseminate the culture and concepts of quality in all aspects of their work and to enhance and develop the capabilities of individuals working in this regard. The research came out with recommendations, including that organizations should work to promote and disseminate the culture and concepts of quality in all aspects of their work. Enhancing and developing the capabilities of individuals working on this can help for the continuous development and improvement of banking services provided to customers.

Subinhibitory effects of 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol on filamentous fungus Aspergillus fumigatus.

Aspergillus fungi are common members of the soil microbiota. Some physiological and structural characteristics of Aspergillus species make them important participants in soil ecological processes. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (2,4-DAPG), a common metabolite of soil and rhizosphere bacteria, on the physiology of Aspergillus fumigatus. Integrated analysis using microscopy, spectrophotometry, and liquid chromatography showed the following effects of 2,4-DAPG on Aspergillus physiology. It was found that A. fumigatus in the biofilm state is resistant to high concentrations of 2,4-DAPG. However, experimental exposure led to a depletion of the extracellular polymeric substance, changes in the structure of the cell wall of the mycelium (increase in the content of α- and β-glucans, chitin, and ergosterol), and conidia (decrease in the content of DHN-melanin). 2,4-DAPG significantly reduced the production of mycotoxins (gliotoxin and fumagillin) but increased the secretion of proteases and galactosaminogalactan. Overall, the data obtained suggest that 2,4-DAPG-producing Pseudomonas bacteria are unlikely to directly eliminate A. fumigatus fungi, as they exhibit a high level of resistance when in the biofilm state. However, at low concentrations, 2,4-DAPG significantly alters the physiology of aspergilli, potentially reducing the adaptive and competitive capabilities of these fungi.

Financial Valuation and Assessment of NVIDIA

As AI technology is at the heart of technology and driving the world's economy in different forms, NVIDIA was once again in the industry spotlight and where the world's attention was gathered at the end of May this year. This paper provides a financial analysis of this company's key figures and a comparison and commentary with its peers, using NVIDIA's fiscal year 2023 as the primary data base. It contributes recommendations for NVIDIA, the leading company, and provides ideas for the development of the related technology industry. Through the comparison of cross-sectional data, NVIDIA presents its internal data in an objective and clear manner, with significant changes in data that are reasonably and comprehensively articulated and well documented. In comparing the company's financials, NVIDIA performs well and has strong and core competitive capabilities. Using the formulas to estimate the stock price and enterprise value, NVIDIA is greatly overvalued. The reasons for this and the potential risks of the company are presented at the end of this paper.