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This paper contributes to debates on gender and competition by drawing on a Foucauldian understanding of neoliberalism to explore how competition operates as gendered technologies of the self. Our findings are based on interviews and observations with women who work in a bank and a network marketing company. We unfold different modalities of competition that are in operation: competition has either an outward focus where women compete with other women or an inward focus where women compete with oneself. The study expands the theoretical understanding of gender and competition by exploring how different modalities of competition operate as gendered technologies of the self under neoliberalism. We conclude that while different modalities exist, they fulfill the same purpose in that they individualise women while making structural inequalities invisible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the dynamic optimal control problem of a monopolist's product innovation in a market exhibiting network externality. The main features of our article are: (ⅰ) consider the problems of customers' expected quality (reference quality) and consumers' withdrawal from the network system; (ⅱ) network size and expected quality are state equations; and (ⅲ) the demand function depends on the product quality, expected quality, product price, and network size. Our main results show: (ⅰ) the system admits an unique saddle-point steady-state equilibrium; (ⅱ) the path of price shows positive correlation with the network size; (ⅲ) the unit variable strength of network externality is more sensitive to network size than price and innovation effort, while the consumer's memory parameter is more sensitive to price and innovation effort than network size; and (ⅳ) there is a positive price-quality relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Matching models with contracts have been extensively studied in the last years as a generalization of the classical matching theory. Matching in networks is an even more general model in which firms trade goods via bilateral contracts constituting a supply chain. Hatfield and Kominers ([2012] Matching in networks with bilateral contracts, Am. Econ. J., Microecon. 4(1), 176–208, doi:10.1257/mic.4.1.176) showed that a natural substitutability condition characterizes the maximal domain of firm preferences for which the existence of stable allocations is guaranteed in such a model, if the set of all existent contracts is acyclic. Moreover, they asserted that these conditions are sufficient to obtain a suitable lattice structure for the set of all stable allocations. In this paper, we exhibit an inconsistency in the last point through an example, and introduce an additional condition over firm preferences that allows to recover an appropriate lattice structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Grade retention touches upon a tension field between the need for schools to promote cohesion and the need to differentiate students based on their abilities. This tension field may induce frustration among retainees. Following the frustration-aggression hypothesis, frustration might lead retainees to scapegoat minorities and to have diminished levels of intergroup tolerance compared to regularly promoted peers. Furthermore, based on comparative reference group theory, retention composition might moderate the association between being retained and intergroup tolerance. Cross-national multilevel analyses were performed on PISA 2018 data (17 countries; 6,010 schools; 122,246 students). Findings show that retainees have lower levels of intergroup tolerance, and this negative association is larger in countries with fewer other retainees. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explores Open Innovation practices adopted by large firms in low- and medium-technology industries to foster innovation when the integration of distant knowledge from far scientific and technological fields is required. The study performs an explanatory single case study methodology. It focuses on the Italian food producer Barilla and its Blu1877 corporate venture capital fund to explore innovations in the food and agri-tech domains. It emerges that, with the intent to create and orchestrate an Open Innovation Ecosystem, Barilla moves across two main trajectories: (i) the search for external knowledge and expansion of network for new markets and technology exploration, and (ii) the support and mentorship of innovative start-ups that explore and develop novel ideas and technologies. The resulting Open Innovation Ecosystem has become the locus where innovations are developed by sharing knowledge, competencies, and capabilities among diverse actors and where companies can promote a transition toward the opening of their organisational boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Travel time pattern analysis and prediction are essential for achieving better logistics performance in the supply chain. Solid theoretical assumptions based on reliable historical information must be established to analyze travel time; however, access to such information in emerging markets is challenging. Neural networks can learn historical data patterns and are proposed in this study as an artificial intelligence tool to calculate and forecast travel times to develop reliability measurements. Thus, the following measures and indices were used: the percentiles of travel time and the mean, amplitude, skew, buffer, and indices of fluidity and planning time regarding the mean. The obtained data were compared, and a small variation was found between the control and prediction sets. Furthermore, the model did not generate large prediction errors based on the root-mean-square error (RMSE) values. According to the mean difference test results, the hypothesis that the real and forecasted datasets have the same mean was not rejected. Overall, the possibility of predicting travel times using neural networks allows modeling the transportation segments where information is unavailable, thus, preserving travel data anonymity. Finally, helpful conclusions and a proposal for future research are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows that matching frictions and a thick market externality in firm‐to‐firm trade shape the agglomeration of economic activity. Using panel data of firm‐to‐firm trade in Japan, I demonstrate that firms gradually match with alternative suppliers following an unanticipated supplier bankruptcy, and that the rate of rematching increases in the geographic density of alternative suppliers. Motivated by these empirical findings, I develop a general equilibrium model of firm‐to‐firm matching in input trade across space. The model reveals that the thick market externality gives rise to an agglomeration externality affecting regional production and welfare. Using the calibrated model to the reduced‐form patterns of firm‐to‐firm matching, I estimate that the elasticity of a region's real wage with respect to population density due to the thick market externality is approximately 0.02. This finding highlights the substantial impact of the thick market externality on the overall agglomeration benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We formulate and analyze market network systems parallel to market games in game theory. We study the structure of efficient and core networks in market network systems. More specifically, we show that if there is no trading cost, a complete network with type-based egalitarian allocations appears in the core of market network systems. Moreover, with heterogeneous trading costs, we show that an efficient network must take the form of a star network with the least-cost-trader as its central player and that the star network is the unique core network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the role of shared meaning for organising Alternative Food Networks (AFNs). Extant research shows that organisational elements, such as rules, and hybridisation of conventional and alternative modes of food provisioning are important for AFN organisation. Yet, they might both enable and hinder the aims of AFNs. Complementing this body of research, the article investigates how AFN participants work out the appropriate kind of organisation for realising 'a promise of difference'. Introducing Zelizer's 'relational work', the article investigates how AFN participants foster a shared meaning of participating and thereby identify what practices are appropriate for its organisation. The analysis draws on extensive ethnographic materials from Swedish REKO‐rings (a direct marketing arrangement for local foods). The findings show how the REKO‐ring participants' relational work negotiates and establishes shared meaning; what practices are appropriate and inappropriate for organising decent food provisioning. The study contributes to extant research by showing the fundamental role of shared (and discordant) meaning for the organisation of market‐based alternatives to the current food system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial transactions are an urgent necessity in societies. They should be regulated by the controls of Sharia. By clarifying corruption and invalidity, forbidden transactions appear. This research deals with clarifying the meaning of corruption and invalidity according to Hanafi, the rule of differentiation between them, the scope of corruption theory, the effects of invalid contracts, the difference between void contracts and invalid contracts in terms of effects and acceptance of correction, and clarifying the meaning of network marketing, its danger and its ruling as one of the contemporary applications of corruption theory. The research concluded that invalid contracts: are those that are not legitimate in their origin and description. While corrupt: are those that are legitimate in their origin but not legitimate in their description. The rule of differentiation between them according to Hanafi: everything that causes a defect in the pillar of sale or its subject matter is invalid, and what causes it in other than it is corrupt. The scope of corruption theory according to Hanafi: only applies to financial contracts that create reciprocal obligations or transfer ownership. The corrupt contract has two effects: proving ownership by taking possession and entitlement to cancellation. The difference between invalid and corrupt contracts in terms of effects: invalid contracts do not provide ownership of the transaction, nor do they require a guarantee, while corrupt contracts provide ownership with conditions, so they own it and become guaranteed in the hands of the buyer. The difference between them in terms of accepting the correction of the contract: invalid contracts cannot be corrected, while corrupt contracts can be corrected by removing the corrupt description. Network marketing is a corrupt and forbidden transaction, because it involves uncertainty, usury, fraud, and consuming people's money unjustly, and because of its negative effects on the economy. The researcher recommends the need to educate people about the prohibition of network marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European administrative networks (EANs) are an increasingly prominent form of European Union (EU) governance. Although these networks are typically portrayed as important and flexible forms of organization, we lack knowledge of their temporal dimension, including their development in times of crisis. This paper provides a first analysis of network interaction as it unfolds before and during times of severe crisis for the EU internal market. Specifically, we examine interactions in the EU internal market network SOLVIT. This network offers member states both a formalized procedure for the bilateral resolution of cases of alleged misapplication of EU law, and an informal network for general discussions on internal market topics and SOLVIT‐related matters beyond specific case‐resolution. Based on unique three‐wave survey data, we develop a continuous‐time model (stochastic actor‐oriented model) to analyze the evolution of SOLVIT's informal interactions over time. In explaining these developments, we reflect on the importance of two crises: the exit of a central SOLVIT member (the United Kingdom), which drove informal interactions to a great extent, and COVID‐19, which led to great sudden uncertainty and challenges for the implementation of internal market law. Our results show that the network is remarkably stable and despite, or rather because of, these crises, has become denser over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the optimal choice of firms' environmental R&D (ER&D) risk in a duopoly market with network externalities and emission tax. Considering consumers' expectations on the overall network size, we analyze two cases in our model: rational expectations and output commitments. The analysis shows that the ER&D risk increases with the intensity of network externalities and emission tax rate under both rational expectations and output commitments. We also find the ER&D risk is higher under output commitments than under rational expectations. Moreover, whether the private optimum is higher or lower than the social optimum depends on the relationship between the emission tax rate and the marginal environmental damage. Finally, the aforementioned conclusions remain unaffected by alterations in the manner in which competition is carried out, and the ER&D risk is higher under Bertrand competition than under Cournot competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Websites become a necessity in helping users to first see the information and content of a product/service offered. Therefore, the development of a website to help small businesses/industries becomes a necessity to help customers get information related to the products/services offered. Marketing product websites has become a necessity today, given that technological advancements have led users to focus more on online purchases. Website design plays a crucial role in enhancing user experience and product marketability more effectively. The aim of this study is to find the optimal combination of design elements for website design according to different user perceptions, so that a reasonable optimization reference based on user perceptions can be provided. Through Kansei Engineering methods and neural network modeling, this study measures and predicts users' perceptions of various website design forms for product marketing. Overall, this study provides conceptual and methodological support for research on the emotional design of human-computer interaction interfaces, as well as supplements existing theories of website design for product marketing. The findings of this study can serve as feedback to website developers for product marketing and related design practitioners to help them improve website design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider an infinitely repeated platform competition in a market with network externalities. The platform that dominated the market in the previous period becomes the incumbent in the current period. We examine the effect of an antitrust policy that prohibits both platforms (symmetric regulation), or just the incumbent (asymmetric regulation) from charging predatory prices. We show that symmetric regulation decreases consumer surplus and does not affect efficiency. Asymmetric regulation increases consumer surplus and improves welfare when the size of the market remains constant over time. Yet, when market size varies over time, this policy may lead to inefficient entry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By studying organizational creations, this article documents the reform trajectory of a non-Western country from 1947 to 2018, using a comparative analytical framework for the operationalization of reform trends on an original dataset – PSAD. Pakistan has paralleled Western world in following the ideal-type reforms without entirely shifting to the new models. Context matters, but the type of government – civilian or military – has not made vivid difference. No one reform type was pushed away; instead, country moved beyond hierarchies and markets creating blends, staging the co-existence of NPM with hierarchies and networks at its 40th. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines whether a country's trade significantly increases industry-level output and whether this impact is greater for industries with higher levels of differentiation. To empirically answer these questions, the Frankel and Romer [(1999). “Does Trade Cause Growth?” American Economic Review 89 (3): 379–399] method, which uses the geographical component of trade as an instrument, is extended in two ways. First, the study examines the impacts on industry-level output instead of country-level output. Second, an index of industry differentiation based on Rauch [(1999). Networks Versus Markets in International Trade.” Journal of International Economics 48 (1): 7–35] is introduced. Using a two-stage least squares estimation and data for 20 manufacturing industries and 99 countries in 2015, it is found that the impact of a country’s trade on industry-level output and output per worker is heterogeneous across industries. A one-percentage-point increase in the trade/GDP ratio results in a larger effect for industries with higher degrees of differentiation, ranging from 0.340% to 1.736% for industrial output and from 0.754% to 1.566% for industrial output per worker. This heterogeneity with respect to industry differentiation is robust even when controlling for latitude and institutional variables. These results suggest that a country’s trade affects industry-level output differently depending on the industry’s level of differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, many real-time semantic segmentation networks aim for heightened accuracy, inevitably leading to increased computational complexity and reduced inference speed. Therefore, striking a balance between accuracy and speed has emerged as a crucial concern in this domain. To address these challenges, this study proposes a dual-branch fusion network with multiscale atrous pyramid pooling aggregate contextual features for real-time semantic segmentation (MAFNet). The first key component, the semantics guide spatial-details module (SGSDM) not only facilitates precise boundary extraction and fine-grained classification, but also provides semantic-based feature representation, thereby enhancing support for spatial analysis and decision boundaries. The second component, the multiscale atrous pyramid pooling module (MSAPPM), is designed by combining dilation convolution with feature pyramid pooling operations at various dilation rates. This design not only expands the receptive field, but also aggregates rich contextual information more effectively. To further improve the fusion of feature information generated by the dual-branch, a bilateral fusion module (BFM) is introduced. This module employs cross-fusion by calculating weights generated by the dual-branch to balance the weight relationship between the dual branches, thereby achieving effective feature information fusion. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed network, experiments are conducted on a single A100 GPU. MAFNet achieves a mean intersection over union (mIoU) of 77.4% at 70.9 FPS on the Cityscapes test dataset and 77.6% mIoU at 192.5 FPS on the CamVid test dataset. The experimental results conclusively demonstrated that MAFNet effectively strikes a balance between accuracy and speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the deepening application of information technology in the field of tourism, tourism informatics as a new research field came into being. In this study, qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to systematically summarize and evaluate the related research of tourism informatics. First, the history and global structure were summarized; Second, the research theories, data, and methods were analyzed. Third, five genres of content were explored: the tourism information industry; spatiotemporal analysis of tourism informatics; data mining in tourism informatics; tourism information behavior; tourism network marketing. The study found that the emerging topics of tourism informatics are constantly proposed, and the research boundaries are constantly expanded. The research gradually develops from the static phenomenon to the comprehensive application of multidisciplinary methods, theories and multiple heterogeneous data. But the research of tourism informatics has many problems, this paper discusses these problems and puts forward the the future research direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we focus on overlapping community detection and propose an efficient semi-orthogonal nonnegative matrix tri-factorization (semi-ONMTF) algorithm. This method factorizes a matrix X into an orthogonal matrix U, a nonnegative matrix B, and a transposed matrix U T . We use the Cayley Transformation to maintain strict orthogonality of U that each iteration stays on the Stiefel Manifold. This algorithm is computationally efficient because the solutions of U and B are simplified into a matrix-wise update algorithm. Applying this method, we detect overlapping communities by the belonging coefficient vector and analyse associations between communities by the unweighted network of communities. We conduct simulations and applications to show that the proposed method has wide applicability. In a real data example, we apply the semi-ONMTF to a stock data set and construct a directed association network of companies. Based on the modularity for directed and overlapping communities, we obtain five overlapping communities, 17 overlapping nodes, and five outlier nodes in the network. We also discuss the associations between communities, providing insights into the overlapping community detection on the stock market network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigating the significant "roles" within financial complex networks and their stability is of great importance for preventing financial risks. On one hand, this paper initially constructs a complex network model of the stock market based on mutual information theory and threshold methods, combined with the closing price returns of stocks. It then analyzes the basic topological characteristics of this network and examines its stability under random and targeted attacks by varying the threshold values. On the other hand, using systemic risk entropy as a metric to quantify the stability of the stock market, this paper validates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as a widespread, unexpected event on network stability. The research results indicate that this complex network exhibits small-world characteristics but cannot be strictly classified as a scale-free network. In this network, key roles are played by the industrial sector, media and information services, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, transportation, and utilities. Upon reducing the threshold, the network's resilience to random attacks is correspondingly strengthened. Dynamically, from 2000 to 2022, systemic risk in significant industrial share markets significantly increased. From a static perspective, the period around 2019, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, experienced the most drastic fluctuations. Compared to the year 2000, systemic risk entropy in 2022 increased nearly sixtyfold, further indicating an increasing instability within this complex network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cryptomarkets—online markets for illegal goods—have revolutionized the illegal drug trade, constituting about 10% of all drug trades and attracting users to a greater variety of and more addictive substances than available in offline drug markets. This review introduces the burgeoning area of sociology research on illegal cryptomarkets, particularly in the realm of drug trade. We emphasize the expanding role of illicit online trade and its relevance for understanding broader exchange challenges encountered in all illegal trade settings. Examining the effects of online illegal trade on consumption and supply-side policing, we also discuss the harm and potential benefits of moving drug exchange from offline to online markets. We argue for a network perspective's efficacy in this research domain, emphasizing its relevance in assessing trade and discussion networks, technical innovation, and market evolution and vulnerabilities. Concluding, we outline future research areas, including market culture, failure, and the impact of online illegal trade on stratification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demand response (DR) can decrease or increase energy consumption and has the ability to use generating assets more efficiently. Because of the increased power consumption, it has become necessary for the power system networks either to update or upgrade the already existing power system or to inculcate some schemes to minimize the load through effective customer engagement. To address this issue incentive-based demand response proved to be an effective tool to change the pattern of consumption. This work proposes a novel multilevel energy market considering coupon incentive based DR (C-IBDR). The proposed model is operated on a modified PJM 5-Bus system where the independent service operator (ISO) using economic dispatch (ED) computes the localized marginal pricing (LMP) and the load serving entity (LSE) issues coupons to consumers and procures the demand reduction from them. Two wind generators are incorporated into the test system and their effect on the localized marginal pricing with and without demand response is analyzed. The optimization problems are modeled using particle swarm optimization (PSO) and linear programming (LP) in MATLAB. The results demonstrate that the proposed C-IBDR reduces peak demand from 900 to 860 MW through the utilization of wind and DR. This alteration modifies the load curve, increases the power factor from 0.524 to 0.555, raises the revenue of LSEs from $106,646 to $106,946, reduces generation costs from $473,291 to $214,651, and procures a total of 262 MW of demand from the consumer side in the form of demand reduction. The system is further tested for scalability. The practicality of the suggested approach in handling more extensive systems is vividly demonstrated through its application to the modified IEEE 118-bus system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to examine the role of business process agility and value co-creation in creating a significant relationship between network capabilities and marketing performance in construction companies in Java. The research method was carried out quantitatively by collecting data by distributing questionnaires through electronic forms and printed formats which was delivered directly to respondents, where the respondent was a manager or director working in a contractor company on the island of Java. The sampling technique was carried out purposively based on the criteria of a manager or director working for at least five years in a contractor company on the island of Java. Based on these criteria, there are 201 company's managers or directors. The obtained atawere analyzed using statistical software AMOS 22. The results showed that network capability have had a positive and significant effect on value co-creation and business process agility. Value co-creation has a positive and significant effect on marketing performance. Likewise, business process agility had a positive and significant effect on marketing performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global exchange of goods and services is increasingly shifting online and onto digital platforms. This paper focuses on the analysis of the leading digital platforms as a "new phenomenon" that has become increasingly significant over the last decade. The main goal is to determine their strategy and success factors. Analysis, synthesis, comparison, mathematical and statistical methods were used. It was found that the success of the selected companies is based on a combination of outstanding skills in specific digital technologies, benefiting from network effects and marketing strategies that enhance their competitive advantage in markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of social contacts in the labor market is widespread. This paper investigates the association between personal connections and hiring probabilities as well as re‐employment outcomes of displaced workers in Portugal. The hiring analysis indicates that displaced workers with a direct link to a firm through a former coworker are three times more likely to be hired compared to workers displaced from the same closing event who lack such a tie. Moreover, we show that successful displaced workers with a connection in the hiring firm have higher entry‐level wages and enjoy greater job security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial land is essential for supply-side structural reforms, particularly in the Chengdu–Chongqing area, Western China's most densely populated and industrially robust region. This area, a pivotal hub linking Southwest China with South Asia and Southeast Asia, is critical for the national strategic layout and regional economic restructuring. Despite its substantial industrial foundation as an old industrial base, internal developmental stagnation has led to an irrational industrial land use structure. This paper analyzed land transaction data from the China Land Market Network (2010–2021) using methods such as kernel density estimation, the standard deviation ellipse method, and Global Moran's I index. The analysis focuses on the spatiotemporal evolution of industrial land marketization and its driving factors in 44 cities within the Chengdu–Chongqing economic circle. The findings aim to enhance the strategic implementation of national policies and regional economic optimization, suggesting intensified development efforts in key cities and promoting integrated growth in potential areas like Suining and Ziyang to foster a conducive environment for high-quality regional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

6-DoF Pose Estimation (Six-Degree-of-Freedom Pose Estimation) of objects is widely used in the fields of augmented reality, robot operation, and unmanned driving. Due to the complexity and variability of real application scenarios, its task needs to deal with the interference such as light change, distance change, sensor noise, and mutual occlusion of chaotic placement. In application scenarios, the implementation of methods with low hardware cost and also high efficiency on accuracy and time cost is still a challenging problem. At this time, it is important to recognize the class of the object, determine the area of the object in the image, and 6-DoF pose estimation of the object that are still challenging problems. In this paper, we proposed a conceptually simple and data-efficient category-level 6-DoF pose estimation network using Pyramid Pooling Transformer as the foundation network to enhance the accuracy in image classification, semantic segmentation, object detection, and instance segmentation with low hardware cost application background. In the cross-modal fusion phase, the implicit Deep recovery technique is used to improve the RGB-D feature representation capability, and the compact pyramid refinement operation can efficiently fuse multiple layers of features with high speed and few parameters. Compared with traditional methods, the methods we proposed have better resistance to occlusion, MAP of 10° 2cm and 10° 5cm can reach 81.4% and 87.1%, and MAP of 5° 2cm and 5° 5cm can reach 69.2% and 72.9%, which is ahead of NOCS and SPD in comparison test of public data set CAMERA and REAL. It has obvious advantages especially under the situation that large hardware and data base is not feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work investigates the price links among four quality differentiated beef meats in the UK using the recently developed QVAR connectedness approach. The empirical results suggest: (a) Prices are more tightly linked to each other under extreme shocks (regardless of sign) than under small shocks. (b) Higher quality meats tend, in most cases, to be net transmitters of price shocks to lower quality ones. (c) The strength and the internal structure of the four-market network are time-varying; in periods of economic turmoil, the level of total connectedness rises and the position of individual markets in the network as net transmitters or receivers of price shocks may change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term transmission expansion planning has to face the energy transition in a restructured electricity market environment. Increased transmission capacity within and between Member States is likely to play an essential role in maintaining the secure and economic operation of the whole European power system and ensuring the integration of growing renewable generation. This paper proposes a novel iterative methodology aimed at assessing an optimal level of interconnection between relevant bidding zones, simultaneously investigating different potential alternatives. Starting from a reference grid, a multi-criteria analysis is adopted to select the additional transmission capacities to be tested in each iteration via network and market simulations in order to confirm that transmission expansion benefits outweigh the estimated realization costs. The proposed approach is applied to the Italian case in two contrasting energy scenarios for the mid-term 2030 and very-long-term 2040 horizons: different development strategies are derived, and the least regret criterion is applied to define the most cost-effective as the target development strategy for the Transmission System Operator (TSO). Furthermore, sensitivity analyses on relevant input data variation are performed to test the robustness of the results obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Paving the way towards inclusive education, it is essential to aim for positive social outcomes for all students, including cultivating a positive self‐concept and fostering acceptance and friendships with peers. Although self‐concept, acceptance and friendships are interrelated, research focussing on the relationship between these constructs remains limited. Method: This study examined the self‐concept, acceptance and friendships of two groups of typically developing students in secondary education (n = 401) and two groups of students in special secondary education with either an intellectual disability (ID) (n = 58) or social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) (n = 68). Results: Lower self‐concept scores were found for students with ID on some dimensions, whereas typically developing students reported lower acceptance and friendship scores. Multilevel analyses indicated that acceptance is a predictor for several different dimensions of self‐concept in the different groups of students, but friendship is less likely to predict self‐concept scores. Discussion: The results of the study emphasize the importance of promoting peer acceptance amongst all students in inclusive school settings in order to realize the intended positive social outcomes of inclusive education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a monopoly and Stackelberg duopoly model for "new economy" markets—with a Beckerian S-shaped demand curve at its center—that allows for intermediate degrees of firm focality and consumer heterogeneity. Because of network externalities, firms compete for the dominant market share, rather than the marginal consumer. This leads to a type of limit pricing—from within, rather than from outside the market—where the nondominant firm captures a positive market share that serves as a consolation prize. We characterize how firms' technologies, "consumer impulses" (which might be influenced by past sales, defaults, or advertising), and network externalities affect competition, and derive implications for firm strategy. Broadly speaking, we find that the dominant firm should adopt an aggressive "top-dog" stance (akin to, but not identical to, that of a firm seeking to deter rival entry), whereas the nondominant firm should respond with an accommodating "puppy-dog" approach. This paper was accepted by Alfonso Gambardella, business strategy. Funding: R. Akerlof received financial support from the Institute for New Economic Thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-level marketing (MLM) is an emergent business opportunity in the marketing world. Distributors must be motivated to sell the products and create a pyramid of marketers to get the job done effectively. Motivation will influence the distributor's attitude towards growth and development. As a result, insights for MLM companies in determining the motivational factors that influence distributors to be successful in MLM are important, yet not well known. This study examined the drivers of distributors' motivation to engage successfully in MLM in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The quantitative research approach and a questionnaire as an instrument were employed to gather data from distributors in MLM companies within the KZN province. The findings showed that distributor motivation is driven by the quality and innovativeness of products to a great extent. Compensation package is also a significant driver of distributor motivation, while price discounts were found to have a moderate influence. The study recommends MLM companies to remain innovative and produce quality products that meet or even exceed expectations of distributors to drive their motivation. Compensation packages can be tailored to suit the criteria of individuals to appeal to different people in unique and effective ways that drive motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Network marketing has seen no shortage of criticism, but its capital gain for corporate owners and top-tier sellers has remained consistent. In this article, we focus attention on the strategies from which this success emerges. Because the discourses which circulate in these spaces serve to uphold multiple oppressive systems at once and do so under the guise of a seemingly progressive feminism, we see import in demystifying their trends. By analysing brand materials of hair care and wellness company, Monat, as well as the prominent social media presence of some of its most affluent 'biz and beauty mentors', we argue that neoliberal feminism and Christian femininity are both demonstrated and reified through the figure of the online influencer we call the 'godly girlboss'. By exploring how the company's top sellers integrate messages of religion, beauty, wealth, and wellness, we argue that their rhetoric functions not only to help them sell shampoo, but also to engender investment in a specific white, Christian, feminine lifestyle. In this way, their social media influence operates not only as a capitalist tool, but a political one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilevel marketing (MLM) involvement can adversely affect consumer wellbeing. We examine how individual beliefs about work predict participation and financial losses in MLMs. As MLMs are presented to the marketplace as low-barrier opportunities to start one's own business, we suggest that this may speak directly to people who strongly endorse Protestant work ethic (PWE), making them more inclined toward MLM participation, and financial outcomes associated with that participation. Using a place-based (county level) MLM data set from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC; n = 326,487), and a consumer survey (n = 515), we find evidence that PWE is positively associated with participation in MLMs (studies 1 and 2), and that PWE predicts estimated financial losses among those who lost $1000 or more (study 1) but financial gains in a more general sample of MLM participants (study 2). Implications for research, marketing, and consumer advocacy are discussed.

One form of entrepreneurship is as a distributor of Multilevel Marketing (MLM). is a modern form of direct selling that can be combined with Communication and Information Technology (CIT) in recruiting members (distributors). Becoming a Tupperware distributor is the choice most in demand by the people of Lampung. In Lampung, the Tupperware distributor has been quite dominant in its spread and also its fluctuating sales. Recently, however, there has been a decline in Tupperware indicating obstacles in developing a distributor's career. This study aims to determine whether entrepreneurial behavior influences career development and whether Islamic capital moderates the relationship between the two variables. This type of research is quantitative, and the total population of the workforce living in Lampung Province was determined using purposive sampling. The data analysis method uses structural equation modeling (SEM) using partial least square (PLS) and data processing is carried out using Smartpls 3 software. The results show that the higher the entrepreneurial behavior, the higher the Career development and Islamic capital can strengthen the relationship between these variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of Product Innovation, networking and Marketing Innovation on ECommerce is a scientific article in the literature study within the scope of the field of science. The purpose of this article is to build a hypothesis of the influence between variables that will be used in further research. Research objects in online libraries, Google Scholar, Mendeley and other academic online media. The research method with the research library comes from e-books and open access e-journals. The results of this article: 1) Product Innovation has an effect on E-Commerce; 2) Networking has an effect on E-Commerce; and 3) Marketing Innovation has an effect on E-Commerce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Network marketing's growth is plagued by ethical concerns, emphasizing the importance of implementing training programs that prioritize integrity. This study aims to analyze how different forms of network marketing training play a role in shaping the marketing ethics of trainees with different identities. It examines how network marketing training shapes ethical proneness of the trainees. Differences in trainee identity (college students vs. incumbent marketers) and training form (college course vs. online training) are also explored. Structural equation model (SEM) is established amongst adaptability, class cooperation, motivation, self-efficacy, and ethical proneness. Through textual analysis, questionnaires, and sim-structural interview, this research conducts three studies to empirically analyze the relationship between factors of marketing training and ethical proneness. It explores the influencing mechanisms of network marketing training on marketing ethics. The relationship between network marketing training and ethical propensity is partially confirmed. The shaping mechanism of marketing ethics is different under different trainee identities and training forms. Positive learning motivation and self-efficacy do not constantly improve trainees' marketing ethics. Informal online training plays a more significant role in shaping market ethics than college courses in network marketing. Lastly, college students are less likely to have their marketing ethics shaped by training than in-job marketers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to investigating the opportunity of activation network marketing in support of investment, through investing Jordan Multi-level Marketing (MLM) or Network Marketing as it is more commonly known, has become quite a buzzword these days with its business model predicated on networking repeatedly through online platforms. Also, the analysis of network marketing in Jordan and how it affects investment development; along with some recommendations to harness its potential for economic growth. In the mixed-methods approach, we will collect network marketing data by interviewing and surveying professionals, investors and government officials both qualitatively & quantitaviley. The findings of the study will help to explain where network marketing stands in relation to Jordan investment map, and offers policy implications for policymakers, entrepreneurs & investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: With technological innovation elements and the competitive market environment becoming increasingly complex, numerous firms utilize network embeddedness to achieve and sustain innovation. However, empirical research has not conclusively established which form of network embeddedness more effectively facilitates corporate innovation. Drawing on the heterogeneous network resources perspective, this study explores the impact of market network embeddedness, technology network embeddedness and their synergy on the green innovation performance of manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Furthermore, it investigates the moderating role of resource orchestration capability in these relationships. Design/methodology/approach: Through an online questionnaire survey of Chinese manufacturing SMEs, 293 sample data were collected, and the hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to test the hypothesis. Findings: The results indicate that market and technology network embeddedness significantly enhance green innovation performance, with the former exerting a more significant impact. Furthermore, the synergy between market and technology network embeddedness positively influences green innovation performance. Additionally, resource orchestration capability strengthens the positive effects of both market and technology network embeddedness on green innovation performance, while the moderating effect of resource orchestration capability on the relationship between the synergy of the two and green innovation performance was insignificant. Research limitations/implications: The study faced many limitations, such as collecting primary data, which relied on a questionnaire only, using cross-sectional data and examining only manufacturing SMEs. Originality/value: Based on the heterogeneous network resources perspective and integrating social network theory and resource orchestration theory, this study explores the impact of network embeddedness on the green innovation performance of manufacturing SMEs, which sheds new light on the network embeddedness research framework and also enriches the antecedents of green innovation. In addition, this study provides implications on how manufacturing SMEs effectively utilize network embeddedness and resource orchestration capability to enhance green innovation performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are few challenges greater than the puzzle of how to move perishable goods from smallholders' fields to final consumers, particularly where transportation barriers abound. Industrial processing can relax the perishability constraint and improve smallholders' options. In Iringa, Tanzania, multiple tomato processing establishments and traditional marketing agents are available for farmers to use. Information about the channels is expected to be vital for producers to choose optimally. In this study, we collected field data from 286 smallholder farmers and analyzed their market channel choice using the random utility model implemented with multinomial logit regression. Revenue performance was further evaluated. Our results confirm that access to market information and extension services were associated with higher farm revenue. Women farmers had more concerns than men about lacking information. Market participation differed by size of the business. Farmers with higher harvested quantity were more likely to choose industrial processing. Producers with small farms preferred full marketing service and mid-size farms chose wholesale markets. Agribusiness management scholars may follow similar research design with future attention paid to elicitation of producers' information about the marketing channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we investigate the dynamic control problems of a price-regulated monopolist's product innovation (improving product quality) and process innovation (reducing marginal production cost) in a market exhibiting network externality. Our work significant features are: (ⅰ) the price of the product is regulated, which is set by a regulator, who links price level to the product quality; (ⅱ) extending the research on product and process innovation by considering reference quality in which reference quality is a dynamic variable; (ⅲ) the consumers' demand function depends on product price, product quality, and reference quality; and (ⅳ) the network size is proportional to consumers' demand. Our main results show that: (ⅰ) under monopoly and social planning, there exists a unique saddle-point steady-state equilibrium, respectively; (ⅱ) in the neighbourhoods of steady-state equilibrium, the social incentive towards both the investments in product and process innovation is always larger than the private incentive characterising the profit-seeking monopolist; (ⅲ) although the price is regulated, the price is higher under social planning than that under monopoly; (ⅳ) the monopolist undersupplies product quality as compared to the social planning, while marginal production cost is socially efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of total subscribers, net investment, mobile data traffic, and mobile number portability on the net sales revenues. In this study, the effects of total subscribers, net investment, mobile data traffic, and mobile number portability on the net sales revenues are tested by using Generalized Method of Moments. The data cover the period of 2010:01-2019:03 (quarterly) for Turkish mobile network market. The Turkish mobile network market is dominated by the three major firms Turkcell, Vodafone, and Avea. According to findings of this study, the most efficient variable that affects net sales revenues is the total mobile data traffic in Turkcell. However, the most efficient variable that affects net sales revenues is the number of total subscribers in Vodafone and Avea. While the number of total subscribers does not have a statistically significant effect on net sales revenues in Turkcell, does significant effect on net sales revenues in Vodafone and Avea. Also, total mobile data traffic does not have effect on the net sales revenues in Avea, but others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Future is rarely explicitly addressed or problematized in business network research. This study aims to examine the possibilities of developing a business actor's future orientation to network studies and imports ideas and concepts from futures research to support the development. Design/methodology/approach: The study is conceptual and interdisciplinary. The authors critically analyze how extant studies grounded in the sensemaking view and process research approach integrate future time and how theoretical myopia hinders the adoption of a future orientation. Findings: The prevailing future perspective is restricted to managers' perceptions and actions at present, ignoring the anticipation and exploration of alternative longer-term futures. Future time is generally conceived as embedded in managers' cognitive processes or is seen as part of the ongoing interaction, where the time horizon to the future is not noticed or is at best short. Research limitations/implications: To enable a forward-looking perspective, researchers should move the focus from expectation building in business interaction to purposeful preparation of alternative future(s) and from the view of seeing future as enacted in the present to envisioning of both near-term and more distant futures. Practical implications: This study addresses the growing need of business actors to anticipate future developments in the rapidly changing market conditions and to innovate and change business practices to save the planet for future generations. Originality/value: This study elaborates on actors' future orientation to business markets and networks, proposes the integration of network research concepts with concepts from futures studies and poses new types of research questions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hypergraph is an extension of a graph in which one edge can connect any number of vertices. In contrary, an edge connects exactly two vertices in a graph. In this paper we introduce hub-hyperpath, hubset and hubnumber of a hypergraph. Also we defined the hubnumber of a different types of hypergraphs and analyze some of its properties. Then the hub number of a hypergraph is compared with its dual hypergraph. Hubset can be useful for various tasks, such as targeted marketing and social networks. Additionally, finding the hub number of a graph is useful in network security, as it helps in identifying nodes that, if compromised, could have a significant impact on the overall network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systemic risk refers to the potential for a disruption in one part of a financial system to trigger a cascade of adverse effects, impacting the functioning of the system. Despite the progress on novel systemic risk measures, research on dynamics of systemic risk network structure and its community effect is still in its initial state. In this study, we utilize price data from 107 representative Chinese stocks spanning the period from 2017 to 2022. A systemic risk network is derived from the Risk Transmission Index based on TENET and the QR–Lasso model. By utilizing DBSCAN, HITS and community detection algorithms on the network, we aim to propose a more suitable definition of systemically important companies, explore the interrelationships between companies, and discuss its plausible reasons for dynamics structural changes. The empirical findings demonstrate a substantial involvement of insurance companies in both contributing to and receiving systemic risk within the analyzed context. We identify prominent risk output and input centers, and emphasize the profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dynamics of systemic risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sound circulation system is an important carrier for the development of the retail industry, and the promotion of green circulation efficiency (GCE) plays an important role in driving the market scale expansion of network retail (NR). This study uses the development status of China's NR and circulation industries as basis to estimate the total carbon emissions (CE) of the circulation industry by using the system dynamics method. Moreover, this research measures China's GCE by combining data envelopment analysis (DEA) and Malmquist index to construct a coupling analysis model to empirically investigate the dynamic coupling relationship between the NR scale and green circulation efficiency. Results indicate that China's GCE is generally increasing, but growth rate fluctuates significantly. Additionally, the improvement of the quality and efficiency of China's circulation industry has not yet formed a steady green path. China's NR market scale continues to expand, but NR at this stage is still mainly concentrated in the eastern region. The efficiency of green circulation and scale of the NR market show a good coupling trend, but there is still a significant gap between the central and western regions. Accordingly, this study proposes that the construction of a green circulation system should be strengthened, and that the development of a green and efficient circulation industry should be taken as the engine of the NR scale expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of offering refurbished products has become increasingly prevalent, yet limited research has studied the potential consequences of this emerging product strategy on the market performance of the corresponding brand‐new products. This study addresses this gap by examining the impact of refurbished products in markets characterized by network effects and standards competition, while considering the developmental stage of the technology standard employed by the products. Introducing refurbished products, primarily remanufactured from returned items, can pose challenges such as sales cannibalization and negative perceptions of product quality. We propose that introducing refurbished products can also generate positive effects, because the availability of refurbished products can be perceived as an indication of sizable prior sales of the brand‐new counterparts, alleviating consumers' concerns regarding an insufficient user base and limited availability of complementary products. Our empirical and experimental studies consistently demonstrate that the availability of refurbished products adversely affects the market value and purchase intention of the corresponding brand‐new products employing established technology standards. In contrast, the introduction of refurbished products does not have such a detrimental effect on products utilizing unestablished standards. Moreover, for a specific group of consumers, this green product strategy increases their purchase intention of brand‐new products. The managerial implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The fundamental objective of this systematic literature review (SLR) is to explore the current challenges for women entrepreneurs in developing countries and discuss future research opportunities. Research Design & Methods: We applied a SLR approach to fulfil the objective. We selected 29 articles from SCOPUS and Google Scholar databases to synthesize reviews. To ensure the quality of the articles collected from Google Scholar, we used Scimago Journal & Country Rank (SJR). Findings: We categorised the key findings into themes (T), contexts (C), and methodologies (M). The major challenges for women entrepreneurs in developing countries cover five themes, i.e. (1) financial, (2) socio-cultural, (3) educational and skills, (4) networking and marketing, (5) political and legal. Developing countries were the main context (C) of this review. Regarding methodologies (M), 51.72% of the collected articles were qualitative. Implications & Recommendations: Policymakers can help make more specialized women entrepreneurship policies by assembling research identifying national barriers empirically and drawing comparisons between the realities of both countries and regions. We proposed a conceptual framework or model based on the challenges of women entrepreneurship and other future research agendas. Contribution & Value Added: This review article is one of the leading studies which helps academics, researchers, and readers gain a deeper understanding of challenges for women entrepreneurs in developing countries by providing a foundation for future studies and encouraging researchers to investigate this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]