Partner Selection Research Articles

Analysis of the Economic Model of Influencer Marketing in Social Media: The Case of Douyin

With the rapid growth of social media platforms, the number of influencers has proliferated. Influencers have become a key link between brands and consumers. Through their personal identities or social accounts, influencers use their influence to promote products or services for brands, and this Netflix economy model has been widely used in various industries. This paper aims to explore the specific forms of influencer marketing and analyse its application in different fields, focusing on the positive and negative impacts on brands and consumers. It has been observed that influencers across various sectors have implemented unique marketing strategies that can significantly enhance brand visibility and foster consumer confidence. However, issues such as false promotions and inappropriate personal remarks by influencers may also have negative impacts. In light of these findings, this study advocates for brands to exercise greater discernment in their partner selection and to motivate influencers to uphold authenticity in their promotional activities. The research significance of this paper lies in the fact that through the in-depth analysis of influencer marketing, it provides a reference for brands to optimise their social media marketing strategies, as well as a basis for further research on influencer marketing in different fields.

Partner selection for supply chain collaboration: New data envelopment analysis models

Partner selection is crucial for ensuring successful supply chain collaboration. This study focuses on selecting the best partner for a predefined two-stage supply chain using data envelopment analysis to assess the performance of collaborative systems. We distinguish between two levels of supply chain collaboration: chain-to-chain and stage-to-stage collaboration. The former involves partner selection within the same supply chain across two stages, while the latter allows for selected partners from different supply chains across two stages. We incorporate the technology learning effect and introduce three degrees of collaboration (minor, major, and medium) for both chain and stage collaboration levels. Solutions are provided for each collaboration level and degree, with comparative analysis indicating that major collaboration in stage-to-stage level yields superior performance. A numerical example and a real-world case study are presented to illustrate our models and findings, demonstrating that our approach offers superior benefits and more flexible options compared to existing methods. Thus, the proposed approach not only contributes to advancing theoretical understanding but also provides practical implications for optimizing collaborative relationships within complex multi-stage supply chain environments.

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Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are an increasingly popular strategy in the provision of public services, such as clean water, infrastructure, and health. This article aims to analyze the factors that influence the success of such partnerships and their social and economic impacts on communities. This research method combines normative and empirical approaches to determine the cooperation agreement of the Regional Drinking Water Company (PDAM) in Kendari City. The results of the study show that in this context, political commitment, transparency, selection of the right partner, and continuous evaluation are considered key factors. In addition, the positive impacts of PPPs include increased access and quality of services, while the challenges faced such as inequality in access to services require special attention. Therefore, wise management is needed to ensure that this partnership provides fair benefits to all levels of society.

Optimal Bundling Cooperation Strategies for Online Paid Membership Programs

ABSTRACTPaid membership programs are popular in Internet firms, and “bundling cooperation for paid memberships” is trendy in their online operations. Unlike traditional product bundling problems, membership bundling between Internet firms presents new characteristics such as member sharing, which brings challenges to profit allocation and partner selection. Despite being a commonly seen business practice, little is known about the optimal bundling strategies and the cooperation mechanisms regarding firms' membership status. To fill this gap, we develop a stylized model that considers the potential added‐value income of membership to analyze the bundling problem between two firms. We show that the optimal bundling strategy depends on firms' original member bases and their ability to mine member value (i.e., value‐monetization ability). We discuss the allocation policy with Nash bargaining and find that the firm may entirely waive its bundled membership fee income and even compensate its partner to achieve cooperation. Surprisingly, a start‐up partner with no member base may be the optimal option. Nevertheless, if there is no such a partner in the market, forming a bundle with a well‐established partner is the right choice. Our findings provide novel managerial insights into bundled membership operations of Internet firms in practice.

Regulated Pricing Decisions and Diagnostic Test Choices in Personalized Medicine: Navigating the Implications Within Legal Frameworks.

The emerging risk of personalized medicine is driving drug manufacturers to seek collaborations with advanced diagnostic firms, aiming to improve detection and treatment outcomes. However, the government's regulated pricing in personalized medicine affects manufacturers' strategic decisions, particularly regarding the selection of diagnostic partners. In this context, this study investigates whether the government should regulate the price of personalized medicine and how the government's regulated pricing decisions affect drug manufacturers' diagnostic test choices. A stylized analytical model was developed, employing game-theoretic analysis. Numerical studies are also conducted to validate our results. The study reveals that in the absence of the government's regulated pricing, drug manufacturers benefit from partnering with high-level diagnostic firms, enhancing consumer surplus and social welfare. However, when the government regulates pricing, the choice of partnering with a high-level diagnostic firm depends on specific conditions, such as low patient sensitivity to treatment failure and a low unit cost coefficient of diagnostic effort. The government's decision to regulate prices is influenced by three key parameters: patients' sensitivity to treatment failure, the unit cost coefficient of the diagnostic test effort, and the proportion of the price of specialized drugs in the regulated pricing. The findings underscore the importance of legal frameworks in the personalized medicine industry. The absence of the government's regulated pricing incentivizes collaborations with high-level diagnostic firms, enhancing consumer surplus and social welfare. However, government intervention in pricing makes such decisions contingent on specific conditions, requiring nuanced regulatory policies that balance the interests of patients, manufacturers, and diagnostic firms.

Sexual orientation as a contextual frame for attractiveness judgments.

Despite strong consensus about the basic features that make someone look objectively attractive, contextual variation may modulate subjective assessments. Here, we investigate how social group membership provides such a context, comparing attractiveness judgments between lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) versus straight perceivers, and examining how these attractiveness judgments relate to beliefs about the target person's sexual orientation. We indeed find that perceivers rate targets as more attractive when they believe the target's sexual majority/minority status matches their own (Study 1). This association differs according to context, however: Although straight and LGB perceivers evaluate the components of facial attractiveness similarly (Study 2), straight men use attractiveness as a cue to sexual orientation (i.e., deeming unattractive women lesbians; Study 3) whereas LGB perceivers use sexual orientation as a cue to attractiveness (e.g., gay men rate men they believe are gay as more attractive than men they believe are straight; Studies 4 and 5). Thus, LGB identity seems to create a context in which sexual minority perceivers learn to attend to information about sexual diversity that straight perceivers may ignore. These findings highlight how group membership provides a lens for social perception, specifically pointing to how the contextual mindset of partner selection may transmute otherwise objective judgments, such as facial attractiveness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

A Typological Analysis of Factors That Increase Attraction in Partner Selection in Korea and Japan: Focusing on Interviews from Reality Dating Programs

A Typological Analysis of Factors That Increase Attraction in Partner Selection in Korea and Japan: Focusing on Interviews from Reality Dating Programs

Enhancing insights in sexually transmitted infection mapping: Syphilis in Forsyth County, North Carolina, a case study.

In 2008-2011 Forsyth County, North Carolina experienced a four-fold increase in syphilis rising to over 35 cases per 100,000 mirroring the 2021 state syphilis rate. Our methodology extends current models with: 1) donut geomasking to enhance resolution while protecting patient privacy; 2) a moving window uniform grid to control the modifiable area unit problem, edge effect and remove kriging islands; and 3) mitigating the "small number problem" with Uniform Model Bayesian Maximum Entropy. Data is 2008-2011 early syphilis cases reported to the NC Department of Health and Human Services for Forsyth County. Results were assessed using latent rate theory cross validation. We show combining a moving window and a UMBME analysis with geomasked data effectively predicted the true or latent syphilis rate 5% to 26% more accurate than the traditional, geopolitical boundary method. It removed kriging islands, reduced background incidence rate to 0, relocated nine outbreak hotspots to more realistic locations, and elucidated hotspot connectivity producing more realistic geographical patterns for targeted insights. Using the Forsyth outbreak as a case study showed how the outbreak emerged from endemic areas spreading through sexual core transmitters and contextualizing the outbreak to current and past outbreaks. As the dynamics of sexually transmitted infections spread have changed to online partnership selection and demographically to include more women, partnership selection continues to remain highly localized. Furthermore, it is important to present methods to increase interpretability and accuracy of visual representations of data.

The Impact of Social Media Use Among Millennial Couples

Social media use (SMU) among millennials (i.e., persons born between 1981 and 1996) is considered a hallmark behavior, with nearly 79% of individuals in this age bracket reportedly using social media multiple times a day. Despite the potential benefits of social media access, this communication method impedes forming deep connections, posing detrimental consequences to enduring romantic relationships among millennials. In recent years, SMU among millennials has skyrocketed, potentially contributing to the increased relational ruptures during this time, such as increased conflict and infidelity rates. With social media providing an outlet for individuals to text, share thoughts, photos, and intimate messages—all with the possibility of evading being caught, the millennial culture is shifting the dynamics of romantic relationships. As a result, therapists are seeing an increased number of couples from the millennial culture with heightened relational dysfunction due to social media and the digital world. Now more than ever, clinicians must be equipped with the necessary skills and competencies to assist millennial romantic relationships impacted by SMU. An in-depth literature review will provide a landscape to examine the role of social media, online dating, partner selection, and issues surrounding infidelity over the last decade. This article will conclude with a case study and recommendations for best practices to help facilitate healing among millennial relationships affected by negative SMU.

The Impact of Body Odors on Sexual Attraction and Partner Selection: A Review of Cisgender Homosexual Men and Women.

This study examined the role of odors in sexual attraction and partner selection among non-heterosexual individuals. We searched using MESH terms in databases including PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, and Clinical Trials. We focused on experimental or quasi-experimental studies where olfactory cues were used in partner selection. The studies had to identify participants' sexual orientation and include heterosexuals for comparison. Seven studies, published between 2005 and 2014, involving 345 participants (Mean age, 27.09years), met the criteria. Results suggest that sexual orientation affects both preference for and production of human body odors and that human body odors appear to provide cues about the sex and sexual orientation of potential partners. Most participants were male, limiting conclusions about the role of pheromones in attraction among non-heterosexual women.

Driving Forces of Strategic Outsourcing in Telecommunication Companies in Tanzania

Abstract This article aims to evaluate the driving forces of outsourcing strategies on the organizational performance of mobile network operators in mainland Tanzania. The objectives are to identify the driving forces of outsourcing and determine the challenges of outsourcing in telecommunication companies. The article adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey. The selection of mobile companies is based on high market share and operation period. Findings show that customer needs for high-quality services, high-rated change in service, reduction of operational expenditure, and accessing the world’s capability are among the major driving forces for outsourcing. Dependability, loss of security, hidden costs, and selection of competent partners to mention a few are the challenges faced by telecom companies. It is noted that outsourcing enables network operators to advance their organizational performance in terms of operating cost, productivity, profitability, and market share. However, customer satisfaction suffers due to the inconsistency of the quality of service offered. Therefore, it is advised that mobile operators closely monitor outsourcing service providers to ensure that agreed service levels are met, thereby, safeguarding the reputation of the company to customers.

The elephant in the room? Considerations of politics among older adult daters

AbstractA sharply polarized political climate may increase the importance single adults place on politics in partner selection. While the importance of politics in dating decisions is not surprising in light of homophily, less is known about how older adults consider political differences in partnering. We answer two questions about older daters and politics: (1) How do older adult daters consider potential partners' political views? and (2) How do perceptions of rising political polarization shape these preferences? We use interview data with 67 adults (aged 55–92) from the Romance and Dating in Later Life study, conducted in Phoenix, AZ, in 2022–2023. Findings show politics are highly salient in partner selection across gender, class, and ideology, suggesting older singles place substantial importance on political views when choosing partners. Many older singles prioritize shared beliefs, while others practice open‐mindedness. Extremist politics, particularly right‐leaning, are viewed as a significant barrier to dating. This study demonstrates how older daters consider political beliefs in dating decisions, particularly considering perceptions of rising polarization. This contributes to research highlighting the role of political ideology in shaping dating decisions by extending the research to include explicit study of mid‐ and late‐life adults, whose dating experiences differ from young adult singles.

Innovating Through Public–Private Partnership

The article titled Innovating through Public-Private Partnership, explores the potential of public-private partnerships (PPP) as a means to foster innovation, economic stabilization, and sustainable community development. It highlights how the collaboration between public administration authorities and private or non-governmental sectors can address pressing societal challenges, including global warming, healthcare modernization, and technological advancements. The research outlines the essential components of PPPs, including financial models, management frameworks, and project evaluation criteria, with a particular focus on innovation-driven initiatives. Various stages of establishing a successful PPP are examined, from project conceptualization and partner selection to implementation and performance monitoring. Furthermore, the paper delves into the importance of funding methods and risk management, demonstrating how a well-structured PPP can combine public and private resources to deliver public goods effectively. The article also provides insights into sector-specific innovation strategies, such as digitalization and renewable energy projects. The case for renewable energy production through PPPs, involving solar and wind energy, is highlighted as a sustainable development model that strengthens collaboration between public and private sectors. By analyzing a five-year history of PPP projects in Europe and providing forecasts for the future, the paper underscores the growing relevance of PPPs in achieving long-term goals for economic and infrastructural development. The study concludes with recommendations for fostering a conducive environment for PPPs, such as legislative reform, the creation of national databases, and investment in education and training to enhance the success and innovation potential of PPPs.

Dynamics of Moral Behavior in Heterogeneous Populations of Learning Agents

Growing concerns about safety and alignment of AI systems highlight the importance of embedding moral capabilities in artificial agents: a promising solution is the use of learning from experience, i.e., Reinforcement Learning. In multi-agent (social) environments, complex population-level phenomena may emerge from interactions between individual learning agents. Many of the existing studies rely on simulated social dilemma environments to study the interactions of independent learning agents; however, they tend to ignore the moral heterogeneity that is likely to be present in societies of agents in practice. For example, at different points in time a single learning agent may face opponents who are consequentialist (i.e., focused on maximizing outcomes over time), norm-based (i.e., conforming to specific norms), or virtue-based (i.e., considering a combination of different virtues). The extent to which agents' co-development may be impacted by such moral heterogeneity in populations is not well understood. In this paper, we present a study of the learning dynamics of morally heterogeneous populations interacting in a social dilemma setting. Using an Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma environment with a partner selection mechanism, we investigate the extent to which the prevalence of diverse moral agents in populations affects individual agents' learning behaviors and emergent population-level outcomes. We observe several types of non-trivial interactions between pro-social and anti-social agents, and find that certain types of moral agents are able to steer selfish agents towards more cooperative behavior.

<span><strong>Diverse groupings in teaching English-speaking skills</strong></span>

This study aims to investigate the effects of diverse groupings on learners' English-speaking skills. Accordingly, diverse groupings as an intervention procedure were implemented over an English-speaking course. This course lasted 15 weeks and 48 EFL students from a university in Vietnam enrolled in the course. On the completion of the course, quantitative data were collected via a questionnaire surveying the involved students' evaluations of the effects of the intervention procedure. Meanwhile, participants' reflections on the course recorded in audio files served as qualitative data for the study. The obtained results from both quantitative and qualitative data reveal that participants highly valued the course because it facilitated their English speaking skills as well as cognitive and social skills. These positive effects were derived from practicing English speaking with various partners. In addition, qualitative data recorded their perspectives on different preferences for partners in group work. These patterns include partners’ English proficiency levels, sex, partnership selection, and working duration. On these results, pedagogical implications are addressed. Further expanded research in this regard within Vietnam and beyond is also suggested to overcome the present study’s limitations.

Mechanochemical Transformations of Pharmaceutical Cocrystals: Polymorphs and Coformer Exchange.

Transformations of solid samples under solvent-free or minimal solvent conditions set the future trend and define a modern strategy for the production of new materials. Of the various technologies tested in recent years, the mechanochemical approach seems to be the most promising for economic and ecological reasons. The aim of this review article is to present the current state of art in solid state research on binary systems, which have found numerous applications in the pharmaceutical and materials science industries. This article is divided into three sections. In the first part, we describe the new equipment improvements, which include the innovative application of thermo-mechanochemistry, sono-mechanochemistry, photo-mechanochemistry, electro-mechanochemistry, as well as resonant acoustic mixing (RAM), and transformation under high-speed sample spinning ("SpeedMixing"). A brief description of techniques dedicated to ex-situ and in-situ studies of progress and the mechanism of solid matter transformation (PXRD, FTIR, Raman and NMR spectroscopy) is presented. In the second section, we discuss the problem of cocrystal polymorphism highlighting the issue related with correlation between mechanochemical parameters (time, temperature, energy, molar ratio, solvent used as a liquid assistant, surface energy, crystal size, crystal shape) and preference for the formation of requested polymorph. The last part is devoted to the description of the processes of coformer exchange in binary systems forced by mechanical and/or thermal stimuli. The influence of the thermodynamic factor on the selection of the best-suited partner for the formation of a two-component stable structure is presented.

Roma undergraduates’ partner selection and social embeddedness

ABSTRACT This study investigates Roma undergraduates’ partner selection patterns, examines the main factors in students’ partner selection attitudes, and analyzes the structural role in students’ network. We rely on data from semi-structured life-narratives and contact diaries of 67 Roma undergraduates. Three main partner selection patterns were distinguished among Roma students: (1) Roma and non-Roma partners with low educational attainment, (2) non-Roma partners with secondary or higher education, and (3) Roma partners with secondary or higher education. Partners’ sociodemographic backgrounds show correspondence with the size of students’ egocentric networks and indicates ties from the same social group with higher probability. Our results imply that in the choice between a typically low-status Roma environment and a high-status university environment, or in the delicate balancing act between the two, the chosen partner plays a key role.

Analysis of the Application the Promethee Method in Determining Work Partners at the Central Statistics Agency of Central Aceh Regency

The selection of partners at the Central Statistics Agency of Central Aceh Regency faces challenges because manual selection methods are considered inefficient and inaccurate. Therefore, this study aims to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the selection process by applying the Promethee (Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations) method. This method is used as a multi-criteria decision-making technique and is implemented using the Python programming language for automatic and real-time data processing. The data used comes from the 2024 partner recruitment process at the Central Statistics Agency of Central Aceh Regency, consisting of candidates who have met the administrative requirements. The validity of the promethee method is tested through the calculation of an error percentage that reaches 10%, demonstrating the method's ability to filter partners according to the established criteria. In conclusion, the application of the promethee method has been proven to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the partner selection process, where the Python-based system developed can reduce the time and effort required in decision-making while producing more valid and reliable partner recommendations.

The quest for a partner in the past and today: exploring trends and drivers in partner preferences and selection through new sources and approaches

ABSTRACT Society - and the way it is organized - along with families, shapes who is available and suitable as a partner, who we encounter, what traits we seek in a partner, and who we form relationships with. In turn, our partner choices impact society at large. Given this bidirectional relationship, partner selection is expected to evolve alongside broader societal changes influenced by factors such as economic shifts, wars, migration, and sociocultural transformations like secularization, feminist movements, and sexual revolutions. The central question of this special issue is how societal transformations have influenced long-term trends in partner preferences and choices. This is being explored through new sources - online genealogies, matrimonial and contact advertisements, data from marriage agencies and dating apps – and approaches.

Risk management in international supply chains: geopolitical and geoeconomic dimensions

In the current climate of global instability driven by dramatic geopolitical and geoeconomic transformations, international supply chains face numerous risks that significantly impact the continuity and efficiency of logistics processes. Threats such as military conflicts, port blockades, border instability, climate changes, and cyber threats introduce new challenges for companies, particularly Ukrainian ones, which require adaptive strategies to ensure the resilience of their supply chains. The purpose of this study is to systematize key geopolitical and geoeconomic risks affecting international supply chains and to identify optimal approaches to managing these risks under conditions of instability, especially for Ukrainian companies facing heightened threats. The study includes an analysis of global risks based on international scientific literature, specific risks in Ukraine and their impact on import, export, and transit chains, and the development of a generalized risk management model tailored to Ukrainian enterprises. The research identified effective risk management methods such as supply chain diversification, the creation of alternative routes, and the use of insurance mechanisms. A practical case study on risk management in the import of industrial fasteners illustrates the stages of collaboration with forwarders and carriers, partner selection, and response to disruptions, demonstrating approaches that can be used to minimize the impact of risks. The findings provide practical recommendations for Ukrainian companies, highlighting an adaptive approach to risk management that will help them maintain competitiveness and ensure supply chain resilience in a rapidly changing global environment. Future research should focus on integrating digital technologies, such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics, to strengthen the resilience and flexibility of international supply chains.