Quality Competition Research Articles

IMPROVING HIGHER EDUCATION COMPETITIVENESS THROUGH A CULTURE OF ACADEMIC QUALITY MEDIATED BY KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN JAKARTA

Objective: This study aims to explain the factors that affect the competitiveness of universities in the Jakarta area. The Jakarta region was chosen because it is in the middle of the country's capital. Methods: This study used quantitative methods, the population was 356 lecturers, the number of samples studied was 188 lecturers from 10 participating private universities. The research focus of the college is accredited "B". The sampling technique uses simple random sampling. Data collection is carried out by distributing questionnaires. Data was analyzed using SEM-PLS. Results: The study are expected to provide input related to quality issues in the Jakarta area. The findings show that quality culture has a significant effect on competitiveness directly or indirectly mediated by knowledge management. The novelty of this study is that knowledge management was found to be able to mediate between quality culture and competitiveness. Conclusion: For the policies of university leaders in decision making in the implementation of a quality culture built from internal quality assurance and integrating knowledge management to all unit leaders to utilize knowledge as a driver of innovation in building higher education competitiveness.

Shining with the stars: Competition, screening, and concern for coworkers' quality

We study how workers' concern for coworkers' ability (CfCA) affects competition in the labor market. Two firms offer nonlinear contracts to a unit mass of prospective workers. Firms may differ in their marginal productivity, while workers are heterogeneous in their ability (high or low) and their taste for being employed by any of the two firms. Workers receive a utility premium when employed by the firm hiring most high-ability workers and suffer a utility loss if hired by its competitor. These premiums/losses are endogenously determined.We characterize contracts and workers' sorting into the two firms under complete and private information on workers' ability. We show that CfCA is detrimental to firms, but it benefits high-ability workers, especially when their ability is observable. In addition, CfCA exacerbates the existing distortion in high-ability workers' sorting into the two firms.

Insights into biomass mild gasification based on mass-energy balance: Establishing condition, thermodynamic mechanisms, and product properties

To alleviate the challenge of gas and char quality competition arising from over oxidation during the biomass gasification. A new concept of biomass mild gasification based on mass and energy balance was proposed, wherein the energy produced during the oxidation stage precisely equals the energy consumed in the pyrolysis and reduction stages. An energy balance index (EBI), obtained through the combined use of TG-DSC-MS-FTIR and Gaussian model fitting to represent the relationship between mass loss and endothermic/exothermic properties among different reaction stages, was optimized by response surface methodology (RSM) to obtain the critical conditions of biomass mild gasification. Under two typical mild gasification conditions, the quality characteristics of mild gasification biochar were analyzed and the gas evolution characteristics and sequence were determined through the combination of two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D COS). The results indicated that mild gasification can be achieved within a heating rate range of 21 °C/min to 26 °C/min, with the oxidation temperature ranging from 776 °C to 869 °C. Under mild gasification conditions, the biochar produced at 850 °C-20 °C/min had higher COOH content, which can regulate soil pH, promote organic matter degradation, and enhance biological activity. Under the 800 °C-25 °C/min mild gasification condition, more CO and CH4 were generated during the pyrolysis stage, but slightly more CO2 was also produced during both the pyrolysis and oxidation stages. This work provides comprehensive thinking on the precious control of gasification process, which lays a foundation for co-generation of high-quality char and gas.

Unilateral Effects of Mergers with Price Regulation and Quality Competition

Unilateral Effects of Mergers with Price Regulation and Quality Competition

Разработка мероприятий по развитию конкурентной среды на региональных рынках

The article discusses measures to create a competitive market environment in regional areas, based on end-consumer perceptions of the market. To date, governments in this field have relied on annual monitoring to assess and develop the competitive environment for goods, services, and work in the region's markets. This approach allows governments to evaluate their actions in relation to overall producer well-being (barriers to entry, information policies, access to resources, and support), as well as analyze the resulting outcomes in terms of the number of companies active in the market and consumer's perceptions of product quality and price competitiveness. However, when making decisions regarding the direction of competition development, it is important to consider the final outcome of government actions in terms of consumer interests. The ultimate goal of competition in the consumer market should be to fully satisfy the needs of consumers. Therefore, it is essential to develop a competition that is based on the needs of final consumers, who are interested in a large number of participants in any market. This will help to reduce prices for goods and services, increase the range, and improve product quality. In this regard, the resulting evaluation of the competitive landscape should be based on the well-being of consumers, which is measured by an indicator of the consumer's perception of competition among companies (variety, quality, and price) and an indicator of their perception of demand trends (income, desire to switch, and awareness). Based on the results of this study, measures were developed to promote competition in regional markets, depending on the evaluation of the level of competition. The proposed approach allows not only to identify the range of typical activities for developing competition in a specific market, but also to categorize the type of competition based on a qualitative evaluation. The practical significance of this research lies in its potential use in further research in designing a general model for monitoring competition development in regional markets.

Risk Management Practices in Construction: China Experience

The purpose of this paper is to talk about how risk is managed in the building industry and rate how well it works in dealing with changes in China's economy, markets, and policies. There are many risks in the construction business, such as those related to safety, meeting deadlines, quality, money, and following the rules. The article reviews the practical application of these risk management areas and explores how they affect project quality, cost control and corporate competitiveness. The study shows that with the diversification of project contract forms and the increasing complexity of large-scale projects, construction companies need to implement comprehensive risk management strategies to cope with these challenges. Effective risk management not only helps to ensure the smooth implementation of projects, but also enhances the competitiveness and efficiency of enterprises in the market. (Wang, 2023)

Impact of Intercompetitor Licensing on Remanufacturing Market Competition and Cooperation

This article investigates the impact of intercompetitor licensing between an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and an independent remanufacturer (IR) on market competition between new and remanufactured products, the IR's remanufacturing strategy, and the IR's optimal quality choice for remanufactured products. In the considered supply chain, the OEM sells new products, and the IR collects used products and then sells remanufactured products to compete with the OEM. To produce remanufactured products, the IR can acquire remanufacturing technology either by paying a licensing fee to the OEM or self-developing it in-house by incurring a fixed research and development cost. We develop game-theoretic models to determine the optimal supply chain decisions concerning the royalty licensing fee, IR's remanufacturing strategy and production quality, and product sale prices. We find that a licensing contract will always induce the OEM and the IR to increase their sales price for new and remanufactured products. However, the OEM will always increase the sales price for new products to a larger degree than that of the IR. This can alleviate price competition between new and remanufactured products and make remanufactured products more competitive in the market. Under licensing cooperation, the IR will always remanufacture used products to a higher quality level that will intensify quality competition. No matter whether the royalty fee is exogenously or endogenously determined by the OEM, there exists a wide range of parameter regions such that a licensing contract will produce a win-win solution for the OEM and the IR. A licensing cooperation may be reached even when the unit royalty fee is at a relatively low level and the total royalty fee is higher than the self-development option.

Exploring the Current Status and Future Potential of Robot, Artificial Intelligence, and Service Automation in the Indonesian Tourism Industry

This paper examines the current state and potential future applications of robots, artificial intelligence, and service automation (RAISA) in the hospitality, travel, and tourism industry, with a focus on Indonesia. The study utilizes a comprehensive review of literature and empirical data, including case studies, industry reports, and scholarly articles, to gather relevant information. The findings reveal that while the implementation of RAISA in the Indonesian tourism industry is still in its introductory stage, advancements in RAISA technology and decreasing costs make it increasingly viable for substituting human labor in repetitive and high-risk tasks. However, it is important to consider that not all service processes are suitable for automation or delegation to robots. The decision to automate or retain human labor depends on factors such as economic efficiency, customer satisfaction, company competitiveness, and other internal and external considerations. This research contributes to the existing literature by addressing the specific context of Indonesia and providing insights into the current state and potential future applications of RAISA in the hospitality, travel, and tourism industry. It highlights the scarcity of research in this area and emphasizes the need for further investigation, particularly in areas such as the economic rationale of service automation, the readiness of businesses to adopt RAISA, stakeholder attitudes towards service robots, the impact of RAISA on service quality and company competitiveness, and the ethical considerations associated with its implementation. The findings of this study offer valuable insights for industry practitioners, policymakers, and researchers aiming to understand the benefits, challenges, and implications of integrating RAISA in the Indonesian tourism industry.

Students’ Psychological Analysis for Classroom Teaching Strategies of Art Songs Based on STEAM Education

Education in today’s society is starting to focus on training in line with the new curriculum concept and curriculum integration concept, paying attention to the change in students’ learning styles and following the law of students’ physical and mental development. In order to cultivate talents more in line with the needs of society and, meanwhile, to improve students’ own quality and comprehensive competitiveness, this paper analyzes and studies the classroom teaching strategies of art songs and students’ psychology under the educational philosophy of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics (STEAM). Firstly, the concept of STEAM education is introduced in detail, and teaching activities under the concept of STEAM education are analyzed. Secondly, the teaching strategies for the teaching of art songs are put forward. Finally, students’ learning psychology is explored to prove the correctness of the teaching strategies. A questionnaire survey is conducted by constructing the evaluation system of the STEAM educational concept. The survey results show that the classroom teaching of art songs under the STEAM educational concept significantly improved students’ “teamwork and interpersonal skills” and “learning interest”. The calculated results of P values are all less than 0.01, which shows that the correlation is significant. Therefore, the STEAM educational concept has positive significance for improving students’ learning motivation and comprehensive quality. This paper provides new theoretical and practical support for current higher education teaching strategies and models by assessing the application of STEAM education in teaching art songs and the blended teaching effectiveness in college English. This paper offers valuable experiences and methodological insights for future similar research endeavors.

SERVQUAL measures: Indonesian government healthcare (BPJS) from a human resource perspective

The purpose of this study is to investigate customer satisfaction with quality of service known as SERVQUAL improvement or service quality competitiveness in emerging markets. Using Indonesian government medical care as an example the author examines the satisfaction of patients. Information and data were collected through a survey of 399 BPJS users in Indonesia. All data were analyzed using Smart PLS. This study demonstrates that there is a negative value associated with the five-dimensional gap. As a result, the care provided to BPJS patients is below par. Specifically, the sensitivity dimension has the largest disparity at 0.15, while the physical evidence dimension has the smallest at 0.49. In order to raise the level of service provided, it may be necessary to take direct measures or examine tangible evidence. This study develops the relationship between different quality service models. There appears to be a substantial increase in the body of literature in the area of service quality, allowing for constant updates and the incorporation of the lessons learned from the experiences of the departed. These revised guidelines are intended to aid SERVQUAL study participants. The study gives practical support to academics and practitioners in directing service quality improvement through the use of data collected from large-scale surveys of patients and medical professionals as doctors in Indonesia.

Implementation of a Quality Metrics Competition to Improve Panel Management Among Internal Medicine Residents.

Background Panel management is essential for residents to learn, yet challenging to teach. To our knowledge, prior literature has not described curricula utilizing a financially incentivized competition to improve resident primary care metrics. Objective We developed a panel management curriculum, including a financially incentivized quality competition, to improve resident performance on quality metrics. Methods We developed a cancer screening and diabetes metric quality competition for internal medicine residents at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for their primary care clinics for the 2020-2021 (pilot) and 2021-2022 academic years. Residents received several educational tools, including a 1-hour introduction to the health maintenance dashboard within the electronic medical record (EMR) and instructions on how to access the quality dashboard outside the EMR, and were encouraged to discuss panel management with preceptors. Chief residents distributed measures to trainees 3 times annually, so residents were aware of their competition ranking. Residents' composite metrics at year end were compared to baseline to determine top performers. The top 15 performers received $100 gift cards as incentives. We also assessed the curriculum's impact on the residents' metrics in aggregate. Results At curriculum completion, residents (n=100) demonstrated an average improvement of 1.9% from baseline composite metrics for the percent of patients receiving screening. In aggregate, residents improved in every measure except HbA1c testing. Breast cancer screening had the largest improvement from 69.5% (1518 of 2183) to 75.6% (1646 of 2178) of all patients receiving recommended screening. Conclusions The curriculum resulted in more patients receiving recommended cancer and diabetes screenings.

The essence of information as an independent economic category

In a market economy, it is customary to distinguish four main factors of production: labor, capital, land and entrepreneurial talent (or entrepreneurial abilities). But it should be noted that modern production is unthinkable without the functioning of the fifth factor — information. The question of the relevance of the research lies in the ambiguity and evolutionism of the category «information». Not only is there no single definition of a category, but the essence of this definition is not always precisely defined. It is worth noting that today the issue of separating information from knowledge in the context of economic theory is also interesting. The author presents a historical structural and essential analysis of the category «information» in the conditions of digitalization and informatization of the current economic system. The necessity of distinguishing this category into an independent production factor determining the implementation of management and investment decisions is noted. The article presents the author's proposals, which have elements of novelty, on the analysis of the influence of information as a production factor on the efficiency of production processes. Taking into account this factor will help the organization to optimize production processes, improve product quality, reduce costs and increase competitiveness. The proposed directions will allow structuring and analyzing data, developing improvement strategies, implementing changes and monitoring their results, so that the company can constantly improve production processes and be more successful in the market. The article will be of interest to theoretical specialists for the formation of a new reproductive system in modern economic theory, which is transformed under the influence of internal and external factors, as well as to practitioners engaged in the optimization of production processes and resource planning.

Research on the Current Situation and Existing Problems of the Implementation of Digitalization Policy in the Cultural Industries in Anhui Province

Culture is the soul of a country, as well as the soul of its national governance. Cultural industry policy is a specific rule and measure formulated by the state or region to indirectly manage the cultural industry, which plays a strategic guiding role in the development of cultural industry. With the maturity and popularization of new generation information technologies such as big data analysis, cloud computing, virtual reality, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and blockchain, etc., the integration of cultural and creative industries and digital technologies has gradually formed the infrastructure of digital creative industries, which has effectively promoted the digitalization of contents, channels, and users in cultural industries. The implementation of digitalization strategies in the cultural industry conforms to the development trend of cultural industry empowered by digital technologies, which will certainly propel the development of new formats of cultural, extend the industrial chain, and boost the quality, efficiency, and core competitiveness of traditional cultural formats in Anhui Province.

Branding vertical product line extensions

AbstractFirms that sell vertically differentiated products infrequently roll out multiple products at the same time. In fact, it is often a firm already selling a well‐established product that decides to expand up‐ or downwards when such an opportunity arises. A critical decision in this scenario is whether to introduce the new product under an existing brand. In this paper, we develop a game‐theoretic model in which firms expand their product line to cater to a different customer segment, choosing their branding strategy, new product quality, and prices. We find that the firm's optimal branding strategy depends on both the vertical direction of the expansion and the level of competition, and identify a novel interaction effect between these factors. In particular, firms engaged in direct competition employ branding as a commitment device to soften quality competition. When these firms extend their product line upwards, this creates a misalignment between firms' actions and consumer preferences. We also derive conditions under which firms, against conventional wisdom, choose to differentiate their products more when selling them under the same brand. Finally, we characterize the welfare effects of branding in this setting, and argue that our findings are consistent with observations from the car industry.

Disentangling the drivers of decadal body size decline in an insect population.

While climate warming is widely predicted to reduce body size of ectotherms, evidence for this trend is mixed. Body size depends not only on temperature but also on other factors, such as food quality and intraspecific competition. Because temperature trends or other long-term environmental factors may affect population size and food sources, attributing trends in average body size to temperature requires the separation of potentially confounding effects. We evaluated trends in the body size of the midge Tanytarsus gracilentus and potential drivers (water temperature, population size, and food quality) between 1977 and 2015 at Lake Mývatn, Iceland. Although temperatures increased at Mývatn over this period, there was only a slight (non-significant) decrease in midge adult body size, contrary to theoretical expectations. Using a state-space model including multiple predictors, body size was negatively associated with both water temperature and midge population abundance, and it was positively associated with 13 C enrichment of midges (an indicator of favorable food conditions). The magnitude of these effects were similar, such that simultaneous changes in temperature, abundance, and carbon stable isotopic signature could counteract each other in the long-term body size trend. Our results illustrate how multiple factors, all of which could be influenced by global change, interact to affect average ectotherm body size.

Penetrating a market with local‐content and pricing decisions: Implications for a multinational firm in the competition with a local firm

AbstractThe internationalization of production requires multinational firms to determine a local content rate for their products made and sold in a foreign country. In this paper, we investigate the impact of a government's local content requirement (LCR) on the local content rate and pricing decisions of a multinational firm who competes with a local firm in a market. In an emerging market, the multinational firm increases his local content rate to comply with an LCR if the LCR involves a moderate threshold and a sufficiently large penalty tariff rate. Although a small penalty tariff rate cannot induce the multinational firm's compliance, a larger penalty tariff leads the firm to adopt a higher local content rate. When the multinational firm complies with the LCR, a higher LCR threshold or penalty tariff rate shifts away the multinational firm's demand and profit but may not benefit the local firm if the two firms' price competition is fiercer than their quality competition. In addition, if the two firms' quality competition is fiercer than their price competition, a large LCR threshold may still not benefit the local firm. In contrast, in a developed market, the multinational firm should increase his local content rate as the quality‐cost tradeoff ratio increases. The LCR plays the same effect on the multinational firm as that in an emerging market, whereas its effect on the local firm still depends on the relative intensity of the two firms' price competition versus quality competition, but under reverse conditions.

How to further develop quality competition in the German healthcare system? Results of a Delphi expert study

Introduction: Many international healthcare systems use quality competition to improve the quality of care. The corresponding instruments include quality measurement, public reporting, selective contracting, and pay for performance. The German healthcare system clearly shows that the possibilities are often limited in the status quo. Therefore, a need for practicable and evidence-based proposals are necessary to further the development of quality competition.Methods: We conducted a national analysis and an international comparison (Switzerland, Netherlands and USA) as a pre-study to derive recommendations. On this basis, we designed a Delphi study with a consensus objective. Experts from relevant stakeholder groups in the German healthcare system were selected using purposive sampling for this study.Results: The experts saw potential for quality improvement in the further development of quality competition. Quality measurement and public reporting were rated as empowering tools. There was mostly disagreement on whether quality competition should be further developed in a more regulatory or entrepreneur-based manner. However, there was a clear consensus that further development must be coordinated between the stakeholders, step-by-step and scientifically supported. In addition, the impulse should be supported by a legislatively introduced reform.Conclusions: Finally, these empirically based recommendations highlight the need for a coordinated coexistence of a top-down and a bottom-up approach. The developed blueprint proposal serves as an impetus for practical considerations of implementation.

Influence of Interface Design Driven by Natural Language Processing on User Participation

The relationship between NLP (Natural language processing) and UI (User interface) design is complementary: NLP technology provides more possibilities for UI design, and UI design provides NLP with a platform for application and development. The combination of the two can play a great role in improving user participation, improving user experience and promoting the development of human-computer interaction. This paper mainly discusses the influence of NLP-driven UI design on user participation. Through research, it is found that NLP-driven UI design has a positive impact on user engagement. Through the application of NLP technology, we can improve the user interface, increase user participation and loyalty, and then provide strong support for the promotion and development of products or services. Therefore, designers need to fully consider the application of NLP technology in UI design to meet the needs and expectations of users and improve the quality and market competitiveness of products or services. The future UI design trend will be the continuous optimization of NLP technology and the combination with other interactive modes to provide a richer and more efficient interactive experience.

R&D location in dynamic industry environments

Abstract We study firms’ optimal R&D location strategies in a dynamic industry model with competition in product quality. In light of potential future inwards and outwards spillovers firms make their location choices relying on heuristic strategies that are based on the expected present values associated with alternative location patterns. Using a simulation analysis, we show how the strategies of innovators and imitators differ and how they depend on whether firms operate in strongly or weakly innovative industry environments. We also characterize how firms’ location choices should account for the innovativeness of the competitors active in a location.

Quality competition among internet service providers

Internet service providers (ISPs) have a variety of quality attributes that determine their attractiveness for data transmission, ranging from quality-of-service metrics such as jitter to security properties such as the presence of DDoS defense systems. ISPs should optimize these attributes in line with their profit objective, i.e., maximize revenue from attracted traffic while minimizing attribute-related cost, all in the context of alternative offers by competing ISPs. However, this attribute optimization is difficult not least because many aspects of ISP competition are barely understood on a systematic level, e.g., the multi-dimensional and cost-driving nature of path quality, and the distributed decision making of ISPs on the same path.In this paper, we improve this understanding by analyzing how ISP competition affects path quality and ISP profits. To that end, we develop a game-theoretic model in which ISPs (i) affect path quality via multiple attributes that entail costs, (ii) are on paths together with other selfish ISPs, and (iii) are in competition with alternative paths when attracting traffic. The model enables an extensive theoretical analysis, surprisingly showing that competition can have both positive and negative effects on path quality and ISP profits, depending on the network topology and the cost structure of ISPs. However, a large-scale simulation, which draws on real-world data to instantiate the model, shows that the positive effects will likely prevail in practice: If the number of selectable paths towards any destination increases from 1 to 5, the prevalence of quality attributes increases by at least 50%, while 75% of ISPs improve their profit.