Understanding the decision rules for 3D printing adoption

ABSTRACT

While 3D printing is a radically different manufacturing method based on advanced technologies, it has not been adopted to-date with as much alacrity as was originally expected. A variety of hidden rules may influence the broad adoption of this novel technology. The purpose of this study is to explore the decision rules for 3D printing adoption from an organisational perspective. Hybrid approaches are proposed to integrate the technology-organisation-environment (TOE) framework and the rough set theory (RST) in order to generate the decision rule and the determinants for 3D printing adoption. An empirical study on manufacturing enterprises in Taiwan is subsequently carried out, with the results revealing a considerable amount of meaningful information that may therefore be useful in the context of management.     

Risk and regret aversions on optimal bank interest margin under capital regulation

This paper examines the bank's optimal loan rate (and thus the bank's interest margin) under more stringent capital regulation when the bank is not only risk-averse but also regret-averse. Risk-averse preferences are characterized by an option-based utility function that includes disutility from the dislike of bank equity risk. Regret-averse preferences feature an option-based utility function that includes disutility from having chosen ex-post suboptimal alternatives. We show that an increase in bank capital requirement results in an increased margin under risk aversion dominating regret aversion, whereas it results in a reduced margin under regret aversion dominating risk aversion. The former holds when risk aversion domination stems from increasing risk-averse preference, but not from decreasing regret-averse preference, while the latter holds when regret aversion domination results from either decreasing risk-averse or increasing regret-averse preference. Risk aversion, as such, makes the bank more prudent and less prone to risk-taking, while regret aversion, as such, makes the bank less prudent and more prone to risk-taking.     

Immigration and inequality: Analysis of Mainland Chinese spouses during the early stages of their time in Taiwan

In this study on Mainland Chinese women in Taiwan, I examined the effect of immigration-related disruption on the assimilation of these women into the Taiwanese labour market during 2005–2015. Accordingly, I used a unique dataset obtained by linking three administrative registers to measure the assimilation process. In addition, I employed the nearest-neighbour matching estimator to assess heterogeneous effects on each Mainland Chinese woman. The results indicated narrowing immigrant–native gaps in labour supply (full-time employment rates) and real monthly insured wages for their first traceable job in favour of Mainland Chinese women. In general, I found that Mainland Chinese women assimilated into the Taiwanese workforce at levels comparable with those of Taiwanese women.     

Knowledge Spillovers and High-technology Clustering: Evidence from Taiwan's Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park

Knowledge spillovers of high-technology industries are alleged to be important determinants of industrial clustering. Dynamic production modeling is applied to measure the sectoral and spatial spillover effects to study the implications of various types of knowledge spillovers on high-technology industry clustering in Taiwan's Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park (HSIP). The analysis is performed using the Taiwanese government's industrial census of technological activities at the micro level with 2340 plants for the period 1986–1995. We find substantive sectoral and spatial knowledge spillover effects, which are considered to be major motivating forces for regional concentration patterns of Taiwan's high-technology industries. (JEL L10 , O30 )     

Nursing staff intentions to continuously use a blended e-learning system from an integrative perspective

The blended e-learning system (BELS), combining face-to-face classes with e-learning modules, is now widely used in education. The primary purpose of this research was to investigate the factors affecting nurses’ behavioral intentions of using the BELS. We synthesized the technology acceptance model, the information system (IS) success model, and perceived enjoyment (PE) into a hypothesized model to discuss and predict nurses’ intentions of using the BELS continuously. Self-reporting questionnaires were distributed to district hospitals and regional hospitals in central Taiwan. From the 800 distributed questionnaires, we received 557 completed questionnaires, yielding a response rate of 69.6%. Structural equation modeling was used to show that information quality, system quality, and service quality significantly affect perceived usefulness (PU) and the perceived ease of use (PEOU). The effect of service quality on PU, however, was not significant. PU, PEOU, and PE were significantly related to the attitude, and indirectly, to the behavioral intention of using the BELS. This research contributed to the literature by (1) identifying the IS success model (information quality, system quality, and service quality) and PE as antecedents of BELS usage; (2) advancing the theoretical development of behavioral intention regarding nurses’ use of the BELS; (3) providing empirical support for the effects of external factors on the PU and PEOU, which lead to attitude and behavioral intention of usage; and (4) providing hospital managers with a reference for assessing future developments and approaches to promote the BELS.     

Technology acquisition models for fast followers in high-technological markets: an empirical analysis of the LED industry

The rapid rate of technology obsolescence in many high-technology markets makes it imperative for firms to renew their technological bases constantly. Given its critical importance, the technology acquisition from the fast followers’ perspective needs to be the subject of careful analysis. This paper aims to identify the factors influencing fast-follower firms’ choice of technology acquisition model, using a multi-factorial analysis and taking into account their technological capabilities, marketing capabilities, and environmental risk tradeoffs. This study sourced data from the Securities Data Company (SDC) Platinum Database for a total of 205 instances of technological cooperation between technology holders and fast followers in the LED industry. Based on the empirical results, some significant findings were found. First, regarding technological capabilities, when fast-follower firms had greater R&D, complementary manufacturing capabilities, and technological similarities with the partners, they preferred the acquisition model that required higher resource commitments. Secondly, when fast followers had marketing channel advantages, they were more likely to choose a high resource-commitment acquisition model to obtain time-to-market benefits.     

Fiscal incentives and political budget cycles in China

Political budget cycles in democracies have been extensively analyzed, but few studies of non-democracies exist. This paper explores political budget cycles in China’s provinces. Using data from Chinese provinces from 1980 to 2006, the analysis finds that the effects of a provincial leader’s tenure on political budget cycles are minimal, implying a weak causal relationship between spending composition and a politician’s time in office at the provincial level. However, there exists a national coordinated cycle associated with the timing of the National Congress of the Communist Party (NCCP). Two years prior to the NCCP, politicians are likely to shift public spending toward capital expenditures, such as innovation funds and capital construction, and away from current expenditures, such as agricultural subsidies. The opposite pattern occurs during the year of the NCCP, when politicians increase current expenditures, such as social expenditures and government administration, and decrease capital expenditures. The increased capital expenditures 2 years prior to the NCCP are accompanied by an increase in taxation and total aggregate spending. The empirical results indicate that provincial budget cycles are mainly driven by national policies rather than by provincial leaders’ personal career incentives. Chinese leaders’ fiscal behaviors are constrained by the dynamics of the national leadership transition, resulting in similar distortions to those found in the democratic countries.     

An exploratory study of the relationship between customer-based casino brand equity and firm performance

This exploratory study examines the relationship between customer-based casino brand equity and firm performance using Macau casinos as a sample. The results indicated that better-performing casino brands were associated with greater customer-based brand equity, which comprises brand loyalty, brand image and brand awareness. Furthermore, Asia Pacific-based casino brands in Macau outperformed their U.S.-based counterparts in terms of customers’ perceived quality, suggesting the need for U.S.-based casino brands to better cater for the needs of Macau casino visitors and to localize their services. Future research directions are also suggested.     

Bridge the Gaps: From Deficiency to Superior Service

In the face of ever intense competition and limited resources, it is management's primary concern to seek out accurate and effective ways for uncovering deficient service quality attributes and the real causes behind them. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to develop a two-phased service quality strategy model to identify defective service attributes and uncover their root causes by integrating the importance-performance gap analysis model, service triangle and gap analysis. A survey conducted on the guests, front-line servers and managers from nine different restaurant outlets of three similar international hotels in Taiwan is presented to empirically substantiate the suitability and practicality of this proposed model. The findings demonstrated that the model was fitted for the hotel in question to identify its defective service quality attributes, prioritize their order of improvement and consequently reveal the causes behind by analyzing the existence of the gaps among customers, managers and front-line servers. The managerial implication for restaurant managers is to reallocate resources and efforts in service areas that require immediate improvement. With this particular model, management now can serve their customers well even with limited resources.