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Redundancy and flexibility are important key drivers for achieving supply chain resilience. However, there is a lack of comparison between these two elements, and their effectiveness on supply chain resilience, as well as how their relationship affects it. To address these problems, this study synthesizes the literature on supply chain resilience, redundancy, and flexibility, and clarifies specific strategies for aligning redundancy and flexibility for supply chain resilience in practice. In particular, it identifies the dimensions of redundancy and flexibility, and delineates four supply chain statuses: vulnerable, robust, lean, and resilient. The understanding leads to a supply chain resilience management framework, which provides operational guidance for enterprises to evaluate supply chain vulnerability and improve operation status. Overall, the framework contributes to the literature with the roles that redundancy and flexibility play in achieving supply chain resilience in terms of their manifestations and interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the impact of a single round of debt renegotiation on investment and financing decisions. We produce an analytical proof for the widely-used assertion that optimal renegotiation time is common default time. We show that debt renegotiation accelerates investment and increases the investment option value by around 15%. Renegotiation surplus increases with project risk but decreases with sunk cost. Investment option value has an inverted U-shaped link with debtholders' bargaining power. If tax rate is moderate, optimal leverage with renegotiation is greater than that without renegotiation but if it is sufficiently high, the opposite holds true. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyethyleneimine (PEI) is a non-viral gene vector of frequent concern because of its high transfection efficiency. However, its clinical application is limited by the cytotoxicity caused by high positive charge density. Therefore, reducing toxicity and maintaining high transfection efficiency through appropriate strategies are of great significance to promote the development of PEI as gene vector. In order to reduce the toxicity of PEI, this work studied the feasibility of encapsulating PEI/DNA complexes by using the coordination between tannic acid (TA) and metal ions (Mn+). Firstly, TA formed a coating layer on the surface of PEI/DNA complex through electrostatic action, and then the quaternary complex (Mn+(TA/PEI/DNA)) system was prepared by the coordination between metal ions and TA. In order to better construct a gene delivery system with high transfection efficiency and low toxicity, the effects of PEI molecular weight, mass ratio of PEI/DNA, mass ratio of TA, and types of metal ions on the transfection efficiency, cytotoxicity, particle size, zeta potential, and cell uptake pathway of the quaternary complex were studied. The results showed that the quaternary complex based on PEI70k and encapsulated by coordination between TA and potassium ions showed better safety than PEI70k/DNA while maintaining high transfection efficiency. This showed that the strategy of coordination encapsulation of TA and ions to improve the safety of PEI as gene carrier is feasible, which provides a new reference for the design of gene delivery system based on PEI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some enterprises recently start to offer the flexible trade-in option to attract customers from competitors, in contrast to the simple one that only allows them to return used products to the same manufacturers for new. Based on analytical and numerical analyses, this study compares the environmental impacts of two trade-in strategies (simple versus flexible) in combination with different carbon tax policies. From the perspective of consumer switching behaviour, a Hotelling model with two market segments is established. Under the flexible trade-in strategy, the carbon emission of enterprises turns out to be significantly higher than that under the simple trade-in strategy. An appropriate carbon tax policy, especially with preferential tax rates on green products, is capable of guiding enterprises to choose a more environment-friendly trade-in strategy included in the model. The findings fill the research gap in comparing the pros and cons of simple and flexible trade-in strategies in terms of sustainable development, and provide managers and policy-makers the insights on how to promote the healthy development of the remanufacturing industry with trade-in strategizing and carbon taxation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a multi-objective optimization method for the accelerated degradation test is proposed to solve the problem that the single objective optimization cannot meet the needs in practice gradually. Firstly, the Gamma process is assumed to describe the degradation path of product. Then, three optimization objectives are considered to establish the multi-objective optimization model based on the analytic hierarchy process, under the constraint that the total experimental cost does not exceed a predetermined budget. To solve the established optimization model, the self-adaption searching algorithm is proposed to search the optimal test plan, in which the searching interval of the decision variable is dynamically adjusted according to the feedback of the optimization function. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is illustrated by a group of examples of motorized spindles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optimal design of an accelerated degradation test can effectively shorten the test duration and improve the accuracy of lifetime evaluation. This article proposes a new optimization method that considers the uncertainty of degradation models during the optimal design, and with the application of the combination forecast method based on the Akaike information criterion, establishes the optimization objective. Furthermore, the total test time is limited, with the inspection interval and the number of inspections as the design variables. A numerical example is presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that when the degradation models of products are uncertain in the optimal design, the proposed method can be effectively used to obtain the optimum test plan; this makes an important contribution to reliability tests and assessment. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to assess the robustness of the optimum plan on parameter variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the effect of ownership structure on the risk-taking behavior of banks in ASEAN countries. Using a sample of 96 commercial banks in ASEAN countries from 2002 to 2018, the study demonstrates that the relationship between ownership structure and bank risk-taking behavior is correlated with the characteristics of individual banks in terms of quantile regression. First, state ownership and foreign ownership affect bank risk-taking positively in high-risk banks while negatively in low-risk banks. Second, the relationship between ownership concentration and risk-taking is negative in all distributions of bank risk. These findings suggest that appropriate ownership structure can constrain bank risk-taking activities in accordance with the level of risk of each bank. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assess the role of psychological and social factors in the decision-making of investors mediated by risk perception. We use a questionnaire survey to collect data from 470 individuals who have invested in firms listed at Pakistan Stock Exchange. We use confirmatory factor analysis to refine the instrument and structural equation model for hypothesis testing. We find that psychological and social factors play a significant role in investors' decision-making. Specifically, anger, fear and a positive mood positively affect investors' decision-making whereas stress, social interaction and herding produce negative effects. Furthermore, risk perception plays a mediating role between psychological factors, social factors and the investment decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work analyses the principle of precision drilling and the special dynamic response that micro-drilling with a low frequency axial vibration has during drilling. Experiments with material of 18Cr2Ni4WA low carbon alloy steel drilled with twist drills of 0.28 mm diameter have been carried out. The experimental results show that micro-drilling with axial vibration of low frequency can increase the position accuracy of the machined holes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the irreversible investment in a project which generates a cash flow following a double exponential jump-diffusion process and its expected return is governed by a continuous-time two-state Markov chain. If the expected return is observable, we present explicit expressions for the pricing and timing of the option to invest. With partial information, i.e. if the expected return is unobservable, we provide an explicit project value and an integral-differential equation for the pricing and timing of the option. We provide a method to measure the information value, i.e. the difference between the option values under the two different cases. We present numerical solutions by finite difference methods. By numerical analysis, we find that: (i) the higher the jump intensity, the later the option to invest is exercised, but its effect on the option value is ambiguous; (ii) the option value increases with the belief in a boom economy; (iii) if investors are more uncertain about the economic environment, information is more valuable; (iv) the more likely the transition from boom to recession, the lower the value of the option; (v) the bigger the dispersion of the expected return, the higher the information value; (vi) a higher cash flow volatility induces a lower information value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of internet technology raises new sentiment measures used to predict stock market return. This raises a new problem because we must choose carefully which sentiment measures to be used to predict stock market return because various correlations and limitations of these different data sources, different sentiment measures, and its general prediction applicability to different domains are unclear. Since there are no perfect and/or uncontroversial proxies for investor sentiment, we will develop a composite sentiment index based on those different sentiment measures using principal component analysis. The investor sentiment measures we use are investor sentiment measured in social media, google search volume, and news media sentiment. We find that each investor sentiment proxies are positively related to sentiment index. We also find that investor sentiment in news media has one-day lag compared to investor sentiment in social media and investor attention in google trend. Lastly, we confirm that investor sentiment cannot be used to predict stock return. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dividend payout problem in literature has largely been misspecified. The roles of dividends as signals, agency cost reducers, fixed income providers or even the invariance of dividend payouts are all phenomenon that, based on market conditions, follow from the role of dividends as equalizers of firm value, discounted from a given point in time, across firm's life. In this study, I discuss few problems with prevalent approaches towards solving dividend puzzle in academia, provide justification for the aforementioned hypothesis based on few assumptions, derive a model applicable under ideal conditions and then measure the deviations from the ideal model in two market indices—Nifty 500 (India) and S&P 500 (USA). The results obtained are then compared with the studies already done on these market and the reasons for deviation are discussed. Once the dividend model is derived, all roles of dividend flow automatically from the primary role of dividends and the extent of efficacy of each of the secondary role is based on numerous factors which vary, giving different results across different studies. The empirical investigation gives a view of these different factors at work in the markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, an attempt has been made to find out why investors still prefer broker-sold fund over direct-sold fund despite the superior performance of the latter. We find the sensitivity of funds flow in selected direct-sold funds and broker-sold funds in India. We do not find any evidence that direct-sold funds underperform the broker-sold funds. Despite the superior performance of direct-sold funds, Indian investors go for broker-sold funds because of ignorance and also for the additional services provided by the brokers. We find that fund houses in India offer both direct and broker-sold funds to target different segments of investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of bank capital, bank liquidity level and credit risk on the profitability of commercial banks in the postcrisis period between 2011 and 2017 in Asian developed economies in comparison with the USA banking industry. The findings show that bank capital and credit risk influence profitability in Asian developed economies similar to in the USA commercial banks, whereas the impact of liquidity on the profitability of the USA large commercial banks is negative and positive on Asian developed economies commercial banks in the postcrisis era. The findings indicate that a 6% increase in capital leads to a 1% increase in profit, a 3.5% increase in liquidity leads to a 1% increase in profit. Specifically, larger banks generate 1% profit against a 1% increase in liquid assets. Medium size banks make 1% profit against a 3% increase in liquid assets, and small size banks produce 1% profit against a 7% increase in liquid assets. The findings show that liquidity influences profitability more intensively than capital, whereas the sign of coefficients is similar for large, small and medium-size banks. The results of this paper indicate that liquidity and bank capital have a positive impact on profitability, while credit risk has a negative influence on the profitability of banks. The findings of the simultaneous equations model indicate that bank capital has a positive impact on profitability in large and medium banks, whereas the profitability of banks influences the bank capital positively in case of large banks and negatively in case of medium banks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volatility is an important component of asset pricing; an increase in volatility on markets can trigger changes in the risk distribution of financial assets. In conventional financial theory, investors are considered to be rational and any changes in relevant risk are assumed to be a result of the movement in fundamental factors. However, herein this study, it is hypothesized that there are movements in risk that are driven by volatility linked to sentiment-driven noise trader activity whose patterns are irreconcilable with changes in fundamental factors. This assertion is tested using a daily sentiment composite index constructed from a set of proxies and Generalised Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity models on the South African market over a period spanning July 2002 to June 2018. The results show that there is a significant connection between investor sentiment and stock return volatility which shows that behavioural finance can significantly explain the behaviour of stock returns on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. It is, thus, recommended that due to the inadequacies of popular asset pricing models such as the Capital Asset Pricing Model, consideration should be made towards augmenting these asset pricing models with a sentiment risk factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates whether Bitcoin acts as a diversifier, hedge or safe haven tool for investors in major developed and developing markets, as well as for commodities. This paper employs the GARCH Dynamic Conditional Correlation (DCC) model. The sample covers seven developed and six developing countries, five regional indices and 10 commodity series. The results show that Bitcoin acts as a hedge for investors in most of the developing countries such as Brazil, Russia, India and South Korea, but only as a diversifier for investors in developed countries and for commodities. Moreover, Bitcoin acts as a diversifier for all the 10 commodities studied here. During the US election in 2016, Brexit referendum in 2016, and the burst of Chinese market bubble in 2015, Bitcoin acted as a safe haven asset for both the US and non-US investors. Understanding the role of Bitcoin is important for financial market participants who seek protection against market turmoil and downward movements. Furthermore, our findings would be of interests to regulators and governments to engage in more discussion of the role of Bitcoin in financial markets. This paper contributes to the ongoing debate on the usefulness of Bitcoin for investments. Furthermore, it distinguishes the benefits of Bitcoin as a diversifier, hedge and safe haven to investors in the developed versus developing markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the impact of ambiguity on the pricing and timing of the option to invest. There is a funding gap to undertake the investment, which is covered by entering into an equity-forguarantee swap. Our model predicts that the more ambiguity-averse the agents, the less the option value, the later the investment and the higher the guarantee cost and the leverage. If the entrepreneur is more ambiguity-averse than the insurer, the investment threshold slightly rises as the perceived ambiguity increases, and on the contrary, if the entrepreneur is less ambiguity-averse than the insurer, the investment threshold increases sharply as the perceived ambiguity rises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green information system (GIS) innovation plays an important role in corporate sustainability, especially for the organizations in emerging economies that face both economic and environmental pressures. To support Sustainable Development, employees need to work together on tasks using all kinds of GIS functions like online collaboration and electronic workflow. Most researchers examine GIS implementation and usage at either the organizational or individual level, but few have studied the phenomenon from the perspective of technology-enabled collaboration. This study investigates the motivation, effort and performance of collective GIS use at the operational level. In addition, strategic-level variables including GIS Strategy, Green Image and Competitive Advantage are included in the research model. Results based on survey observations collected from China and USA support hypothesized relationships and reveal interesting cross-country differences. GIS Strategy provides overarching guidance on GIS-enabled collaboration, which yields long-term effects on Green Image and Competitive Advantage. The findings provide helpful insights on the best practices to promote GIS-enabled collaboration for corporate sustainability in countries and regions at different development stages. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We extend the classical compound Poisson risk model to consider the distribution of the maximum surplus before ruin where the claim sizes depend on inter-claim times via the Farlie–Gumbel–Morgenstern copula. We derive an integro-differential equation with certain boundary conditions for this distribution, of which the Laplace transform is provided. We obtain the renewal equation and explicit expressions for this distribution are derived when the claim amounts are exponentially distributed. Finally, we present numerical examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To conduct a subanalysis of the randomized MARCH (Metformin and AcaRbose in Chinese as the initial Hypoglycemic treatment) trial to investigate whether specific characteristics are associated with the efficacy of either acarbose or metformin as initial therapy.Research Design and Methods: A total of 657 type 2 diabetes patients who were randomly assigned to 48 weeks of therapy with either acarbose or metformin in the MARCH trial were divided into two groups based upon their hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels at the end of follow-up: HbA1c <7% (<53 mmol/mol) and ≥7% (≥53 mmol/mol). Univariate, multivariate, and stepwise linear regression analyses were applied to identify the factors associated with treatment efficacy.Main Outcome Measures: Because this was a subanalysis, no measurement was performed.Results: Univariate analysis showed that the efficacy of acarbose and metformin was influenced by HbA1c, fasting blood glucose (FBG), and 2 hour postprandial venous blood glucose (2hPPG) levels, as well as by changes in body mass index (BMI) (p ≤ 0.006). Multivariate analysis and stepwise linear regression analyses indicated that lower baseline 2hPPG values and greater changes in BMI were factors that positively influenced efficacy in both treatment groups (p ≤ 0.05). Stepwise regression model analysis also revealed that a lower baseline homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and higher serum insulin area under the curve (AUC) were factors positively influencing HbA1c normalization in all patients (p ≤ 0.032).Conclusions: Newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients with lower baseline 2hPPG and HOMA-IR values are more likely to achieve glucose control with acarbose or metformin treatment. Furthermore, the change in BMI after acarbose or metformin treatment is also a factor influencing HbA1c normalization. A prospective study with a larger sample size is necessary to confirm our results as well as measure β cell function and examine the influence of the patients' dietary habits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider a perturbed renewal risk model where the interclaim times are phase-type distributed and the dividend payment is a step function depending on the current surplus level. We obtain the integro-differential equations with boundary conditions for the moment-generating functions and the moments of arbitrary order of the present value of all dividend payments until ruin. Explicit expressions for the expected discounted dividend payments are derived if the claim amount distribution belongs to the rational family. Last, we present an example to show how the results are applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper derives two pricing PDEs for a general European option under liquidity risk. We provide two modified hedges: one hedge replicates a short option and the other replicates a long option inclusive of liquidity costs under continuous rebalancing. We identify an arbitrage-free interval by calculating the costs of the two hedges. Unlike in a setting with infinite overall transaction costs, the overall liquidity cost in our model is proved to be finite even under continuous rebalancing. Numerical results on option pricing and the moments of hedge errors of Black–Scholes and our modified hedges are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]