Core Enterprise Research Articles

Resilience and performance: capturing their synergy for ongoing success

PurposeMost companies struggle to meet the dual goals of sustaining competitive advantage and ensuring high resilience during crises. Those that do, research tells, adapt their operational practices along the crisis cycle, combining an effective cost approach at the start of a crisis, while quickly relaunching their investment to grow ahead of competition, just when they learn that the crisis is peaking, and not too late, when the crisis is over. This cycle alignment is possibly the crucial, but not the only, factor for success. We update early research to show that companies succeeding in this dual objective also take a proactive strategy approach of capturing the complementarities between both performance and resilience during a period of high turbulence. This complementarity relies on exploiting dynamic capabilities common to both resilience and performance, and on leveraging the resilience process as a foundation for strategic renewal going forward.Design/methodology/approachThe research relies on case studies, complemented by an original survey sample, collected just after the peak of the covid-19 pandemic, of 4,000 multinational firms spread across 18 industries termed NACE2, a statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community. This study included 10 countries outside the European Community. The sample collects information on five core enterprise capabilities (agility, innovativeness, active ecosystem play and digital/sustainability maturity, flexible work practices) and uses a variety of quantitative techniques to assess that existence and size of synergies captured by firms.FindingsCompanies meeting the dual goal of resilience and performance are more than doubling their rate of profit growth relatively to peers, after the peak of the crisis, by leveraging of synergies between performance and resilience.Originality/valueThe topic is essential for management, given the elevated turbulence. This research confirms that resilience and performance are synergistic and helps make companies using each crisis boost performance forward.

Beyond Transplant: A Network Innovation Model of Transnational Regulatory Change

Abstract Seeking inspiration from different legal systems in order to solve common policy problems is a core enterprise of comparative law. However, dominant understandings in comparative law and regulatory theory about how norms, rules, and formal institutions move across borders are increasingly inadequate in the face of modern transnational policy challenges. Solving transnational problems requires regulatory innovation, complex coordination, and even competition among private and public actors in multiple jurisdictions, as well as much faster policy responses than most countries can achieve either domestically or multilaterally. Accelerating solutions to emerging transnational problems therefore demands a new focus within comparative law on how transnational legal innovation works and how to leverage its benefits faster on both a global and local scale. This Article proposes a conceptual framework to ground this effort—a “network innovation” model of transnational law formation. Building on earlier literatures on legal transplant, policy diffusion, institutional change, and transnational legal ordering, as well as studies of firm-level innovation, this approach recognizes that new norms, rules, and other institutions are sourced from, coordinated by, and transmitted through transnational networks of public and private actors. Moving beyond prior literatures, however, it views transnational law formation as an aggregating process of innovation where the resulting outputs are the complex product of multiple experimental sites and sources. This approach offers a more accurate descriptive account of transnational regulatory change and points to network innovation processes as central to solving common or collective transnational problems. This Article illustrates the proposed framework with case studies of efforts to build sustainable financial systems. It concludes by suggesting strategies to accelerate network innovation and considering how this theoretical paradigm might inform new directions in comparative law.

Sustainability-aware collaborative service composition and recommendation based on multi-attribute correlations

In the context of network collaborative manufacturing and green manufacturing, some researchers have begun to focus on collaboration-awareness or sustainability-awareness service composition separately. However, service collaboration and sustainable performance are interrelated in the service business implementation, so they should be considered simultaneously when establishing service composition to ensure efficient service delivery. In this study, a sustainability-aware collaborative service composition and service recommendation (SCSR) model is formulated, aiming to pursue maximum customer service quality, as well as the synergy effect and eco-efficiency of combined services. Given the interdependencies inherent in service attributes, DEMATEL (Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) is presented to acquire the influential weights for aggregating multiple service attributes into the service decisions. To recommend suitable composite services for core enterprises, NSGA-II with two initialization methods and three neighborhood structures is first proposed to produce high-quality solution sets regarding service composition. Then TODIM (an acronym in Portuguese of Interactive and Multi-Criteria Decision Making) is utilized to evaluate the relative dominance of these service composition alternatives under the psychological behavior of the decision-maker. Numerous experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the improved NSGA-II in handing the SCSR issue. Furthermore, the necessity of considering attribute interrelationships and synergy effects in service composition is verified.

Transformation Mechanism of Supply Chain Micro and Small Enterprises in the Context of the Internet

The development of intelligent manufacturing has significantly impacted the traditional manufacturing industry, so it is urgent to change the traditional business model and production mode. As the world economy is in a downturn, small and micro enterprises in the subordinate position of the supply chain are facing a considerable threat. On the one hand, the substitutability is substantial; there is no bargaining power, which makes the enterprise's anti-risk ability 0. On the other hand, it is subject to significant restrictions, and the core enterprise thunder will protect all of the enterprises in the chain. This paper focuses on the risk identification and transformation mechanism of micro and small enterprises and whether micro and small enterprises have the conditions for transformation and upgrading in the context of the Internet. Based on the Bayesian formula, the AHP method model is the theoretical basis to help enterprises make decisions.

R&D mode and coordination of green products in sustainable supply chain considering power structures.

Green product R&D has a significant impact on the sustainable development of the economy and environment, and green product R&D can be carried out by manufacturers, retailers, third-party companies, and enterprise alliances. The decision-making order in the supply chain depends on the power structures, which can affect the choice of the supply chain decision-making. To study the optimal choice of green product R&D mode in different power structures and the influence of power structure on product price, market demand, green level, and enterprise profits, This paper compares five modes including green product R&D by manufacturers, green product R&D by retailers, green product R&D outsourced by manufacturers to third-party companies, green product R&D outsourced by retailers to third-party companies and green product R&D by manufacturers and retailers in the three power structures of manufacturers as core enterprises, retailers as core enterprises, and equal power between manufacturers and retailers to study the selection strategy of green product R&D modes in the sustainable supply chain. The conclusion provides a strategic reference for the selection of green product R&D mode in different power structures. The findings indicate that when manufacturers are core enterprises, retailers' green product R&D is better than that of manufacturers. When retailers are core enterprises, manufacturers' green product R&D is better than that of retailers. In the same power structure, manufacturers' green product R&D is better than outsourcing to third-party companies, retailers' green product R&D is better than outsourcing to third-party companies, and manufacturers and retailers jointly conduct green product R&D better than manufacturers or retailers alone. When manufacturers and retailers have equal power, the market demand and the product green level are the highest, and the retail price is the lowest. When manufacturers are core enterprises, manufacturers' profits are the highest. When retailers are core enterprises, retailers' profits are the highest. Finally, a two-part pricing contract is used to coordinate the optimal selection strategies.

Green Supplier Assessment and Selection for Sea Cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) Processing Enterprise: Case Study in China

Green supply chain management is a crucial way to balance economic benefits and environmental impacts. As an important economic aquatic product in China, sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) is facing the dual challenges of economic benefits (profit) and environmental sustainability (material input and emission output). Currently, the sea cucumber industry in China lacks a green supplier screening system, resulting in a fragmented pattern of cooperation among enterprises. Core enterprises in the supply chain cannot assume social responsibility to help and guide upstream and downstream enterprises to jointly improve environmental performance. This study focuses on the selection and evaluation of green suppliers for sea cucumber processing enterprises. Firstly, a green supplier assessment indicator system for sea cucumber processing enterprises was established, and the indicator weights were determined by the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method. Next taking a large sea cucumber processing enterprise in Dalian, China, as an example, the importance level of each index was evaluated by fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE), and the score and ranking of existing suppliers were determined. The validity and practicality of the method were verified. The results show that Supplier 1 (S1) has the highest score, and the price of sea cucumber farming, the cleaner production level of sea cucumber farming, environmental awareness, and long-term cooperation willingness were the most important factors in the selection of green suppliers for sea cucumber processing enterprises, which provides useful clues on the best practice of making sustainable development decisions. With an in-depth understanding of the key factors, suppliers can formulate different prices according to the differences in sales channels to improve the economic deficiencies. Environmental pollution can also be reduced by using clean energy, establishing a recirculating aquaculture system, and using micro-ecological preparations. The conclusions of this study can provide technical support and decision-making suggestions for the application of green supply chain management in China’s aquaculture industry.

An empirical analysis of the impact of Cross-border E-commerce on the competitiveness of SMEs based on the context of big data

Abstract Cross-border E-commerce has advanced greatly with the help of big data technology, cross-border payment and logistics maturity and improvement, and backing from the national “One Belt, One Road” policy. Firstly, based on the study of enterprise core competitiveness evaluation index system, one is proposed for the core competitiveness of Cross-border E-commerce enterprises, and an evaluation model based on SA-LSTM for the core competitiveness of Cross-border E-commerce enterprises is constructed. Then, with the research objective of refining the core competitiveness of Cross-border E-commerce enterprises, the model was applied to empirically analyze the core attractiveness of major domestically listed Cross-border E-commerce enterprises. The results show that laws and regulations have no significant influence on enterprise competitiveness, the regression coefficient is not significant, and the t-value = 1.793 < 2. Hypothesis A is not verified. And the p-values of the technical environment, development potential, market demand, capital management, process cost, information sharing and service level are all less than 0.05, and the regression coefficients are all significant with t-values greater than 2, indicating that indicators B to H has a significant positive influence on enterprise competitiveness. This study reduces the barriers for SMEs to apply Cross-border E-commerce to participate in foreign trade, reduces the cost of enterprises, and improves their own competitiveness.

Study on the impact of digital economy on innovation output based on dynamic panel data model

PurposeThe digital economy has become a new engine for economic development, promoting the upgrading and transformation of traditional industries as well as fostering emerging industries and forms of business. Nonetheless, how does the digital economy affect innovation? The research objective is to explore the specific impact of the digital economy on innovation output.Design/methodology/approachThis paper innovatively adopts the dynamic panel data model (DPDM) to carry out an empirical study on the impact of the digital economy on innovation output, through the observation of 30 provincial-level administrative regions in China. Furthermore, the paper innovatively analyzes the impact of different dimensions of the digital economy on innovation output and the impact of the digital economy on different dimensions of innovation output.FindingsIt is found that the digital economy is conducive to boosting innovation output considering innovation continuity. Specifically, the driving impact of core industries and enterprise application of digital economy on innovation output is more prominent, but the driving impact of infrastructure and personal application on innovation output is not fully played. Meanwhile, the driving impact of the digital economy on the innovation output quality is more significant than that digital economy on the innovation output quantity.Originality/valueThis study employs a DPDM for the first time to investigate the specific impact of the digital economy on innovation output, and contributes to the existing literature on the digital economy and digital economy-driven innovation. The findings offer a comprehensive explanation for the impact of the digital economy on innovation output, which has reference value for the formulation of innovation policies driven by digital economy, thereby providing impetus for the sustained and stable development of China's economy.

Financing and coordination of the agricultural supply chain considering government-enterprise guarantee

We examine an agricultural supply chain consisting of a core enterprise and a capital constrained farmer and assess the yield uncertainty of farmer’s production. We explore two kinds of financing models: traditional bank financing and government-enterprise guarantee financing. To coordinate the supply chain, a price commitment contract and a revenue-sharing contract are considered. Our results show that no matter in bank or government-enterprise guarantee financing model, we can find the conditions for full coordination of the supply chain with any contract. However, in the government enterprise guarantee financing model, when a farmer has bankrupt risk in a low-yield season and no bankrupt risk in a high-yield season, the revenue-sharing contract can simultaneously make the supply chain fully coordinated and achieve Pareto improvement to maximize the profits of the entire supply chain and achieve a win-win situation. In addition, the farmer and enterprise prefer to choose the financing model with a higher promised price and a higher revenue-sharing ratio, and the social welfare under the government-enterprise guarantee financing model is higher than that under the traditional bank financing model.

THE INFLUENCE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL STABILITY ON ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT

Under the background of globalization and information technology, the competitiveness of enterprises has become an important symbol of a country or even a region. The formation of enterprise competitiveness is closely related to many factors, among which economic development and social stability play a positive role that cannot be ignored in the long-term and stable development of enterprises. Economic development and social stability have laid a solid foundation for the development of enterprises, enabling them to form a relationship of complementary advantages, mutual benefit and value sharing among the government, market and society. However, enterprise management as an enterprise under the background of economy and socialization through the labor and labor resources coordination and distribution, help enterprises to control cost, efficient configuration, promote production plays a key role, therefore, enterprise management is one of the important elements affecting the enterprise core competitiveness, in turn, reflects the present situation of contemporary economic and social development. The effective development of enterprises not only plays a helping role in helping the whole national economy, but also plays an important role in solving the employment problem of social workers, creating wealth, eliminating poverty, reducing the gap between the rich and the poor, promoting consumption and stabilizing the society. Therefore, to explore the impact of economic development and social stability on enterprise management is to study the impact of economic development and social stability on the sustainable development and improve the comprehensive competitiveness of enterprises, starting from the core meaning of enterprise development.

Study On Risk Identification of Corporate Supply Chain Finance Based on ISM-MICMAC Model

It is crucial to accurately identify the main influencing factors of supply chain finance risk, analyze their mechanism of action and construct a system of influencing factors for risk management of supply chain finance. This paper examines the three parties involved in supply chain finance, including the financial institution, the core enterprise, and the SMEs, and screens out 21 major risk factors from them. This study calculates the adjacency matrix and accessibility matrix by using SPSSPRO, then constructs the interpretative structural modeling method (ISM) and the recursive structure diagram. Combining the Matrix-based Multiplication Applied to a Classification (MICMAC), this paper classifies the influencing factors into four categories: autonomous category, dependent category, linkages category, and independent category. The results show that: (1) the factors that constitute the deepest level of risk in supply chain finance are crediting false trade, non-standard bill of lading, data information security risk, imperfection of business process design, et cetera. (2) Among all factors, three factors are identified as the autonomous category, nine as the independent category, and nine as the dependent category with no linkages category.

Internal incentives for carbon emission reduction in a capital-constrained supply chain: A financial perspective.

Capital constraints hinder enterprises' carbon reduction efforts and affect the sustainability of the supply chain. To alleviate this limitation, the core enterprise considers offering two financial-based carbon reduction incentive mechanisms: cost-sharing mechanism (CS) and preferential financing mechanism (PF). In a supply chain with the dual sensitivity of market demand to price and carbon reduction, we model each incentive mechanism, discussing their impact, value, and selection strategies. The results show that neither party under CS pursues an excessively high share ratio. Only a below-threshold sharing ratio can promote the supplier's carbon reduction behavior and improve efficiency for both parties. Conversely, PF has a stable incentive effect on the supplier's carbon reduction behavior and can effectively increase the retailer's profits. However, a reasonable carbon reduction standard is needed to attract the supplier. In addition, as market demand becomes more sensitive to carbon reduction, the feasible range of CS narrows and that of PF expands. We compare players' preferences of PF and CS and find a Pareto region in which all players prefer PF to CS. Finally, we test the robustness of our findings by an extending model. Our study provides guidance for supply chain decisions facing dual pressures of financial constraints and carbon reduction.

Study on the Vulnerability of Municipal Solid Waste Resource Symbiosis Network—A Case Study Based on the Construction of Zero Waste City in Panjin

Building zero-waste cities is an important initiative. It helps China to meet the challenges of climate change, build an ecological civilization, and build a beautiful and high-quality China. Through the recycling and safe disposal of waste, the ultimate goal of the construction of zero-waste cities is to minimize the amount of solid waste. Municipal Solid Waste Resource Symbiosis Network (MSWRSN) is the best way to achieve zero-waste cities. However, this system is vulnerable to many factors. These factors will restrict the construction and development of zero-waste cities. This study proposes a vulnerability measurement method of MSWRSN based on energy exchange. Panjin, a city in Liaoning Province, is used as an example to simulate it. The vulnerability measurement method of MSWRSN is composed of three parts. First, the study adopts a directional weighting approach to design the topologic structure of MSWRSN. Second, Dijkstra’s algorithm is used to analyze two topological parameters, node mesonumber and edge mesonumber. It also focuses on single-node failure mode and edge failure mode. Finally, the study uses a functional measure function to calculate the vulnerability of each node and each edge in symbiotic networks. The results of the study show that (1) MSWRSN in Panjin has not yet formed a nested pattern. The symbiotic patterns of different industrial chains are also different. (2) Node failure has a greater impact on MSWRSN. (3) There are differences in the vulnerability of the industry chain in the network. Based on the findings of the study, this study advises managing the vulnerability of MSWRSN from the following aspects. It includes increasing the diversity of symbiotic units, promoting the development of symbiotic networks to nested types, and strengthening risk monitoring and management of core enterprises.

The Impact of Blockchain on Enterprises Sharing Real Data Based on Dynamic Evolutionary Game Analysis

The use of blockchain technology can ensure that data remains untampered with once it is on the chain. However, it doesn’t guarantee the authenticity of data before it enters the chain. In this study, we developed a three-party dynamic evolutionary game model involving core enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and financial institutions. Our findings indicate that a blockchain supply chain (BSC) generates more economic benefits than a traditional supply chain (TSC). We then built a dynamic evolutionary game model between core enterprises and SMEs, which revealed that SMEs are influenced by core enterprises and tend to adopt the action strategies of the latter. Additionally, we developed a dynamic evolutionary game model between core enterprises and financial institutions and compared the reward and punishment mechanisms with the synergy payoff mechanism. In the reward and punishment mechanisms, the game is a zero-sum game, where one party’s gains come at the expense of the other party. This mechanism has certain limitations and must meet specific conditions to improve the willingness of enterprises to share data. On the other hand, the synergy payoff mechanism enhances the authenticity of shared data by increasing the payoff for participants. When core enterprises play games with SMEs, the probability of core enterprises uploading real data and the distribution ratio of synergy payoff show an inverted U-shape. Similarly, core enterprises and financial institutions have comparable results in allocating synergy payoff. To leverage the synergy payoff mechanism, the distribution proportion of players participating in the synergy payoff should be considered fair. Finally, we validated our findings by simulating the models. If we can use blockchain technology to enhance the mutual trust between enterprises and banks, both banks and enterprises can achieve sustainable development.

Blockchain-based credible manufacturing data sharing for a collaborative manufacturing supply chain

ABSTRACT Core enterprises are entering into close collaborations with multi-level manufacturing service providers to create and share value. However, credible data sharing in collaborative manufacturing supply chains is rare, which can lead to uncontrollable production distortions and delayed operational adjustments. Driven by blockchain technology, this study proposes a systematic framework for credible manufacturing data sharing for a cross-enterprise collaborative manufacturing supply chain (CMSC). To develop the needed method, a blockchain network system with blockchain nodes, distributed ledger, and Raft-based distributed node ordering service system was first modelled. Then, two automatic data upload algorithms were studied to ensure the reliability of off-chain manufacturing data sources from core enterprises, suppliers, and customers. Then, two types of smart contracts were designed to ensure the standardisation and co-validation of manufacturing data storage and query processes in the blockchain network. A demonstrative case was studied to validate the proposed blockchain-based credible manufacturing data sharing method. The results show that our work is effective for credible data sharing in CMSC, which makes it easier for core enterprises to better operate the CMSC and further stimulate enterprises to create a credible social community.

Research on the Problems and Countermeasures of Knowledge Workers Loss in state-owned Enterprises

In the era of the knowledge economy, the core object of enterprise human resource management is knowledge workers. The status of knowledge workers in state-owned enterprises is even more important. They are the core human resources of state-owned enterprises, mastering the enterprise's key resources, core technology, and management secrets. The loss of knowledge workers in state-owned enterprises is becoming increasingly serious. The loss of knowledge workers has seriously weakened the market competitiveness of state-owned enterprises. It is one of the major problems affecting the survival and development of state-owned enterprises. Reducing the loss of knowledge workers has become a major challenge for state-owned enterprises. This article will analyze the existing problems within state-owned enterprises, such as welfare policies, performance appraisal, and working environment. At the same time, it summarizes the problems existing in the life of different types of knowledge workers. Finally, combined with the development of today's society, put forward corresponding effective suggestions and achievable solutions.

Credit coguarantee loan buyback contracts: Equilibrium and coordination strategies

Buyback guarantee financing requires core enterprises to provide both a buyback policy and a credit guarantee. The recent economic downturn has severely weakened the credit guarantee capacities of enterprises. Guarantee companies (GCs) that provide financing credit guarantee services address this issue specifically and have attracted considerable attention. We consider incorporating a GC into the supply chain to fully coguarantee with core enterprises, introduce risk compensation into the model to hedge against default risk, and formulate a multilevel Stackelberg game with the GC as the leader. A credit coguarantee loan buyback (CCLB) contract, integrating a credit coguarantee loan and a buyback contract, is designed to analyze equilibrium strategies. Additionally, we explore the coordination conditions for the CCLB contract and perform numerical analysis to illustrate its effectiveness. The optimal decisions under different financing scenarios are comparatively analyzed to show coguarantee effectiveness. We also investigate the value of CCLB compared to trade credit finance. We find that a higher decentralized optimal order quantity depends on a lower service fee rate, or a higher buyback price and return rate in some cases, while the optimal service fee rate is conditional on the coguarantee share and risk compensation ratio. The results reveal that with appropriate parameters, the proposed contract can achieve coordination. For a supply chain with a higher buyback price and return rate or greater risk compensation, GCs prefer to join; otherwise, they either cover a lower risk or charge a higher service fee rate to achieve a sustainable credit guarantee business.

A practical guide to expert learner skills in the research environment.

The ability to complete an experiment successfully without mistakes is at the core of the scientific enterprise. Some scientists seem more able to avoid mistakes and missteps than others. In the field of cell biology, their success is often attributed to having naturally good hands. Here I propose that rather than possessing "good hands," an innate and unlearnable aptitude for science, such scientists possess expert learning skills that can be effectively mastered. I share a straightforward approach to gaining and teaching expert learning skills in the research lab environment. I also discuss ongoing efforts by others to develop curricula that teach expert learning skills in laboratory courses.

A Novel Risk Control Method of Supply Chain Finance for Commercial Banks with Big Data

Commercial bank supply chain financial business is mainly divided into accounts receivable financing mode, inventory financing mode and advance financing mode. Traditional supply chain financial business of commercial banks in different modes will form different risks, including small and medium-sized enterprise credit risk, the core enterprise credit risk and credit risk of the third-party logistics warehousing company. Under the background of increasingly powerful financial science and technology, we can use more financial technology through big data multidimensional collecting enterprise information, establishing intelligent risk control process, establishing the core enterprise credit evaluation system, preventing the core and small and medium-sized enterprises collusion fraud, preventing the third-party logistics warehousing enterprise credit risk, and reducing the risk of commercial banks supply chain financial business.

The construction of enterprise's financial supply chain management under blockchain technology

AbstractThis paper uses the advantages of blockchain technology to help construction enterprises obtain low‐interest bank loans, effectively reduce financing costs, thus improving the level of financial supply chain, innovating financial management (FM) of construction enterprises, solving the FM transformation problem of construction enterprises and promoting the sustainable development of construction enterprises, and thus doing the following work. First, this paper describes the concept and characteristics of BT and the motivation of FM of construction enterprises to use BT. Second, it analyses BT's three main application advantages in construction enterprise financing: reducing financial risks, improving the credit penetration of core enterprises, and reducing financing costs. Meanwhile, this paper summarizes the problems that should be paid attention to in implementing the current financial supply chain management strategy in enterprises. It provides a solid theoretical foundation for the research of FM transformation in construction enterprises. Finally, the overall design and functional analysis of the BT FM platform are carried out. The functions of the BT FM platform are divided into four modules: system management, credit management, contract management, and information management. Besides, their specific business processes are analysed. The research results show that BT is applicable in enterprises, and the value of each participant's financing platform can be clearly defined from the construction of BT‐based financing platform. The income quota of the owner's individual operation is 33%, and the income quota of the tripartite cooperation is also 33%, which further illustrates the effectiveness of the financial financing model of construction enterprises based on BT and the feasibility of its actual implementation in the future. In this paper, the related issues of financial supply chain management are systematically and comprehensively summarized, which has theoretical guiding significance for the research of FM transformation of construction enterprises based on BT.