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The sudden outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in early 2020 has dramatically changed people's lives. Some countries have taken mass home quarantine to control the virus. However, the side effects of quarantine have rarely been interrogated by current COVID-19 research. This study thus investigates the effects of online social support on the public's beliefs in overcoming COVID-19 by embracing their cognition and emotion during the epidemic. First, by crawling and content analysis of the messages posted on "Baidu COVID-19 bar1", this study identified 5 types of online social support given or received by the public during COVID-19. On this basis, a model explaining the public's beliefs was developed from the perspectives of online social support, cognition and emotion. 334 valid online questionnaires were collected to examine the proposed model and hypotheses. The results show that cognition has a direct effect on the belief, while emotion affects the belief via a full mediating effect of cognition. Tangible support and esteem support can directly affect the public's beliefs, and educational level significantly moderates these effects. In addition, the public's cognition is influenced by informational support, however, emotion is not influenced by social support but by other factors (e.g., information disclosure, material supplies and frustration caused by the epidemic). These research results provide a deep insight into how to reduce the negative effects of quarantine, consolidate the theoretical basis of the public's beliefs, and have important practical implications for individuals and the government in dealing with such emergencies.
Zhong Yao; Pengfei Tang; Jiarong Fan; Jing Luan. Influence of Online Social Support on the Public's Belief in Overcoming COVID-19. Information Processing & Management 2021, 58, 102583 -102583.
AMA StyleZhong Yao, Pengfei Tang, Jiarong Fan, Jing Luan. Influence of Online Social Support on the Public's Belief in Overcoming COVID-19. Information Processing & Management. 2021; 58 (4):102583-102583.
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhong Yao; Pengfei Tang; Jiarong Fan; Jing Luan. 2021. "Influence of Online Social Support on the Public's Belief in Overcoming COVID-19." Information Processing & Management 58, no. 4: 102583-102583.
This paper examines the impact of channel contracts on pricing strategies and profitability with considering service network effects. Specifically, we model a bundled distribution channel that consists of a product manufacturer and a service operator under two popular channel contracts (the wholesale contract and the agency contract). The optimal pricing policies for the product manufacturer and service operator are derived under both contracts. We compare channel performance under two channel contacts, and we find that the marginal costs of manufacturer play a critical role. When the marginal manufacturing cost is relatively small, the agency bundled channel outperforms the wholesale bundled channel; when the marginal manufacturing cost is sufficiently large, the wholesale bundled channel is better. We further identify two conditions under which the agency contract is preferred over the wholesale contract. For service network externality, we show that it has a remarkable effect on pricing scheme, market demand and total channel performance. Our research thus is the first to investigate the influence of distribution contracts and service network externality on the bundled channel dynamics.
Biao Xu; Zhong Yao; Shin-Yi Wu. Pricing strategies for a bundled channel with services network effects. International Journal of Production Research 2020, 59, 3152 -3168.
AMA StyleBiao Xu, Zhong Yao, Shin-Yi Wu. Pricing strategies for a bundled channel with services network effects. International Journal of Production Research. 2020; 59 (10):3152-3168.
Chicago/Turabian StyleBiao Xu; Zhong Yao; Shin-Yi Wu. 2020. "Pricing strategies for a bundled channel with services network effects." International Journal of Production Research 59, no. 10: 3152-3168.
Linlin Zhang; Guoqing Zhang; Zhong Yao. Analysis of two substitute products newsvendor problem with a budget constraint. Computers & Industrial Engineering 2020, 140, 1 .
AMA StyleLinlin Zhang, Guoqing Zhang, Zhong Yao. Analysis of two substitute products newsvendor problem with a budget constraint. Computers & Industrial Engineering. 2020; 140 ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLinlin Zhang; Guoqing Zhang; Zhong Yao. 2020. "Analysis of two substitute products newsvendor problem with a budget constraint." Computers & Industrial Engineering 140, no. : 1.
Customer reviews in social media and electronic commerce Web sites contain valuable electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) information of products, which facilitates firms’ business strategy and individual consumers’ comparison shopping. Exploring eWOM of products embedded in customer reviews has attracted interest from researchers in various fields. Coarse-grained and context-free sentiment analysis approaches have been used in existing researches, which however often fail to satisfy the firms’ demands of fine-grained extraction of market intelligence from social media. In this study, we propose an original method to explore eWOM of products based on sentiment analysis at fine-grained level from a large volume of online customer reviews. We illustrate a feature-based and context-sensitive sentiment analysis mechanism that can leverage the sheer volume of customer reviews in social media sites. A novel semi-supervised fuzzy product ontology mining algorithm is proposed to extract semantic knowledge from online customer reviews with positive or negative labels. Based on real-world online customer review data set, the proposed method shows remarkable performance improvement over baseline methods at exploring eWOM of product a fine-grained level. With the novel eWOM exploring method, firms can improve their product design and marketing strategies, and potential consumers can make better online purchase decisions.
Qing Sun; Jianwei Niu; Zhong Yao; Hao Yan. Exploring eWOM in online customer reviews: Sentiment analysis at a fine-grained level. Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence 2019, 81, 68 -78.
AMA StyleQing Sun, Jianwei Niu, Zhong Yao, Hao Yan. Exploring eWOM in online customer reviews: Sentiment analysis at a fine-grained level. Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence. 2019; 81 ():68-78.
Chicago/Turabian StyleQing Sun; Jianwei Niu; Zhong Yao; Hao Yan. 2019. "Exploring eWOM in online customer reviews: Sentiment analysis at a fine-grained level." Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence 81, no. : 68-78.
Medical waste has strict classification standards. However, in reality, the process of collection and disposal of most medical waste does not strictly follow the corresponding standards, thus resulting in great potential risks to people’s health. Our research analyzed existing problems with medical waste classification management, optimized the medical waste recycling business model, and then used the simulation software AnyLogic to design mixed and classification simulation models based on current literature regarding the standards of medical waste classification and composition in China. Furthermore, we simulated and calculated the generation of nonrecyclable medical waste, recyclable medical waste, and domestic waste in the three models based on 30,000 tons of medical waste generated in Beijing in 2015. We compared and analyzed the output, generation rate, disposal cost, recycling revenue, and cost–benefit based on the disposal cost standards of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform and the China Renewable Resources Price Index in Beijing. The importance of strengthening the classification and recycling of medical waste was further validated by modeling and simulation. The study provides an important reference to hospitals, disposal plants, and government regulatory departments in their decision-making.
Hao Liu; Zhong Yao. Research on Mixed and Classification Simulation Models of Medical Waste—A Case Study in Beijing, China. Sustainability 2018, 10, 4226 .
AMA StyleHao Liu, Zhong Yao. Research on Mixed and Classification Simulation Models of Medical Waste—A Case Study in Beijing, China. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (11):4226.
Chicago/Turabian StyleHao Liu; Zhong Yao. 2018. "Research on Mixed and Classification Simulation Models of Medical Waste—A Case Study in Beijing, China." Sustainability 10, no. 11: 4226.
Nowadays, with the development of information technology and economic globalization, supplier selection problem gets more and more attraction. The recent literature shows huge interest in hybrid artificial intelligence (AI)- based models for solving supplier selection problem. In this paper, to solve a multi-criteria supplier selection problem, based on genetic algorithm (GA) and ant colony optimization (ACO), hybrid algorithm of GA and ACO is developed. It combines merits of GA with great global converging rate and ACO with parallelism and effective feedback. A numerical experiment was conducted to optimize parameters and to analyze and compare the performance of the original and hybrid algorithms. Results demonstrate the quality and efficiency improvement of new integrated algorithm, verifying its feasibility and effectiveness. It’s an innovative pilot research to leverage hybrid AI-based algorithm of GA and ACO to settle the supplier selection problem, which not only makes a clear methodological contribution for optimization algorithm research, but also can be served as a decision tool and provide management reference for companies.
Jing Luan; Zhong Yao; Futao Zhao; Xin Song. A novel method to solve supplier selection problem: Hybrid algorithm of genetic algorithm and ant colony optimization. Mathematics and Computers in Simulation 2018, 156, 294 -309.
AMA StyleJing Luan, Zhong Yao, Futao Zhao, Xin Song. A novel method to solve supplier selection problem: Hybrid algorithm of genetic algorithm and ant colony optimization. Mathematics and Computers in Simulation. 2018; 156 ():294-309.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJing Luan; Zhong Yao; Futao Zhao; Xin Song. 2018. "A novel method to solve supplier selection problem: Hybrid algorithm of genetic algorithm and ant colony optimization." Mathematics and Computers in Simulation 156, no. : 294-309.
This paper provides a comprehensive comparison between the agency and wholesale model under the electronic book market duopoly. A model comprised of two retailers and a publisher was established to run the comparison in terms of price, profit, and welfare. We found that although better e-reader offerings may seem favorable in terms of e-book pricing, the actual effect on e-books is limited or even negligible. High wholesale price leads to higher retail prices of e-books and e-readers under the wholesale model than the agency model. Generally speaking, the total profits of e-books returned to the retailers under the wholesale model are lower than those returned under the agency model; conversely, the publisher obtains higher profits under the wholesale model than the agency model despite its power over e-book pricing. We also found that consumers are more likely to derive greater surplus under the wholesale model when the difference in available e-books is relatively narrow. If the wholesale price is low, however, the consumer surplus under the wholesale model is higher than that under the agency model across the board. Further, when the difference in e-books is very small, the total social welfare is minimized under the wholesale model compared to the agency model; low wholesale price but poor substitutability (or high wholesale price with relatively high substitutability) yield favorable social welfare under the wholesale model.
Cungen Zhu; Zhong Yao. Comparison between the agency and wholesale model under the e-book duopoly market. Electronic Commerce Research 2017, 18, 313 -337.
AMA StyleCungen Zhu, Zhong Yao. Comparison between the agency and wholesale model under the e-book duopoly market. Electronic Commerce Research. 2017; 18 (2):313-337.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCungen Zhu; Zhong Yao. 2017. "Comparison between the agency and wholesale model under the e-book duopoly market." Electronic Commerce Research 18, no. 2: 313-337.
This study uses eye-tracking method to investigate consumers' online review search behavior by suggesting that it needs to consider the type of product reviewed. A review-product congruity proposition was testified through a self-report survey and an eye-tracking experiment. The proposition states that consumers of search products expect to seek attribute based reviews, while consumers shopping for experience products tend to seek experience based reviews. Two experiments were conducted in the human factors & ergonomics laboratory of Beihang University, China and all subjects are college students. The results of our first empirical experiment support our hypotheses by showing consumers' more active and positive responses to attribute based reviews when shopping for search products and to experience based reviews when purchasing experience products. The second experiment was conducted with eye tracking method to gain further insights. We found that consumers of search products are attracted and engaged more deeply by attribute based reviews. However, when they browse experience products, the difference of their fixations on experience based reviews and attribute based reviews is not significant, and thus the proposition is partially supported. This study extends our current understanding of consumers' online review search behavior by subsuming product type, which is necessary and helpful, and provides references on the classification and presentation of reviews to facilitate consumers' product judgement and decision making. Moreover, comparison of traditional empirical method and eye-tracking method can help deepen our understanding of complex consumer online shopping behavior. Product type and review nature are considered to explore review search behavior.Use two methods to validate are view-product congruity proposition.Compare the results from a self-report survey and an eye-tracking method.Show a good example to employ neurocognitive method to explore consumer behavior.
Jing Luan; Zhong Yao; Futao Zhao; Hao Liu. Search product and experience product online reviews: An eye-tracking study on consumers' review search behavior. Computers in Human Behavior 2016, 65, 420 -430.
AMA StyleJing Luan, Zhong Yao, Futao Zhao, Hao Liu. Search product and experience product online reviews: An eye-tracking study on consumers' review search behavior. Computers in Human Behavior. 2016; 65 ():420-430.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJing Luan; Zhong Yao; Futao Zhao; Hao Liu. 2016. "Search product and experience product online reviews: An eye-tracking study on consumers' review search behavior." Computers in Human Behavior 65, no. : 420-430.
A novel fused algorithm that delivers the benefits of both genetic algorithms (GAs) and ant colony optimization (ACO) is proposed to solve the supplier selection problem. The proposed method combines the evolutionary effect of GAs and the cooperative effect of ACO. A GA with a great global converging rate aims to produce an initial optimum for allocating initial pheromones of ACO. An ACO with great parallelism and effective feedback is then served to obtain the optimal solution. In this paper, the approach has been applied to the supplier selection problem. By conducting a numerical experiment, parameters of ACO are optimized using a traditional method and another hybrid algorithm of a GA and ACO, and the results of the supplier selection problem demonstrate the quality and efficiency improvement of the novel fused method with optimal parameters, verifying its feasibility and effectiveness. Adopting a fused algorithm of a GA and ACO to solve the supplier selection problem is an innovative solution that presents a clear methodological contribution to optimization algorithm research and can serve as a practical approach and management reference for various companies.
Futao Zhao; Zhong Yao; Jing Luan; Xin Song. A Novel Fused Optimization Algorithm of Genetic Algorithm and Ant Colony Optimization. Mathematical Problems in Engineering 2016, 2016, 1 -10.
AMA StyleFutao Zhao, Zhong Yao, Jing Luan, Xin Song. A Novel Fused Optimization Algorithm of Genetic Algorithm and Ant Colony Optimization. Mathematical Problems in Engineering. 2016; 2016 ():1-10.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFutao Zhao; Zhong Yao; Jing Luan; Xin Song. 2016. "A Novel Fused Optimization Algorithm of Genetic Algorithm and Ant Colony Optimization." Mathematical Problems in Engineering 2016, no. : 1-10.
Everyone likes Porsche but few can afford it. Budget constraints always play a critical role in a customer’s decision-making. The literature disproportionally focuses on how firms can induce customer valuations toward the product, but does not address how to assess the influence of budget constraints. We study these questions in the context of a referral reward program (RRP). RRP is a prominent marketing strategy that utilizes recommendations passed from existing customers to their friends and effectively stimulates word of mouth (WoM). We build a stylized game-theoretical model with a nested Stackelberg game involving three players: a firm, an existing customer, and a potential customer who is a friend of the existing customer. The budget is the friend’s private information. We show that RRPs might be optimal when the friend has either a low or a high valuation, but they work differently in each situation because of the budget. Furthermore, there are two budget thresholds, a fixed one and a variable one, which limit a firm’s ability to use rewards.
Dan Zhou; Zhong Yao. Optimal Referral Reward Considering Customer’s Budget Constraint. Future Internet 2015, 7, 516 -529.
AMA StyleDan Zhou, Zhong Yao. Optimal Referral Reward Considering Customer’s Budget Constraint. Future Internet. 2015; 7 (4):516-529.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDan Zhou; Zhong Yao. 2015. "Optimal Referral Reward Considering Customer’s Budget Constraint." Future Internet 7, no. 4: 516-529.
There is an increasing interest regarding the use of electroencephalography (EEG) in social commerce and electronic commerce (e-commerce) research. There are several reviews in the field of social commerce or e-commerce; these have great potential value and mining them is fundamental and significant. To our knowledge, EEG is rarely applied to study these. In this study, we examined the neural correlates of social commerce reviews (SCRs) and e-commerce reviews (ECRs) by using them as stimuli to evoke event-related potentials. All SCRs were from friends through a social media platform, whereas ECRs were from strangers through an e-commerce platform. The experimental design was similar to that of a priming paradigm, and included 40 pairs of stimuli consisting of product information (prime stimulus) and reviews (target stimulus). The results showed that the P300 component was successfully evoked by SCR and ECR stimuli. Moreover, the P300 components elicited by SCRs had higher amplitudes than those elicited by ECRs. These findings indicate that participants paid more attention to SCRs than to ECRs. In addition, the associations between neural responses and reviews in social commerce have the potential to assist companies in studying consumer behaviors, thus permitting them to enhance their social commerce strategies.
Yan Bai; Zhong Yao; Fengyu Cong; Lin Zhang. Event-related potentials elicited by social commerce and electronic-commerce reviews. Cognitive Neurodynamics 2015, 9, 639 -648.
AMA StyleYan Bai, Zhong Yao, Fengyu Cong, Lin Zhang. Event-related potentials elicited by social commerce and electronic-commerce reviews. Cognitive Neurodynamics. 2015; 9 (6):639-648.
Chicago/Turabian StyleYan Bai; Zhong Yao; Fengyu Cong; Lin Zhang. 2015. "Event-related potentials elicited by social commerce and electronic-commerce reviews." Cognitive Neurodynamics 9, no. 6: 639-648.
Lin Zhang; Zhong Yao. Decision Making for a Risk-Averse Dual-Channel Supply Chain with Customer Returns. Business Information Systems 2014, 118 -130.
AMA StyleLin Zhang, Zhong Yao. Decision Making for a Risk-Averse Dual-Channel Supply Chain with Customer Returns. Business Information Systems. 2014; ():118-130.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLin Zhang; Zhong Yao. 2014. "Decision Making for a Risk-Averse Dual-Channel Supply Chain with Customer Returns." Business Information Systems , no. : 118-130.
This paper analyzes the impact of price-sensitivity factors on characteristics of returns policy contracts in a single-period product supply chain. The contract considers stochastic and price-dependent demand. We present an analytical model and then use numerical methods with the Stackelberg game to identify the contract properties. We numerically show that a returns policy indeed improves supply chain performance. However, the benefits earned from the returns policy, under price-sensitive and variable demand, are different for different supply chain partners. First, when price-sensitivity is high, profit of the manufacturer decreases with increase in demand variability. Second, when price-sensitivity is sufficiently high and demand variability increases, the manufacturer has to surrender part of the profits to the retailer, in order to continue sales. However, even after surrendering part of the profits to the retailer, the manufacturer still earns profits that are higher than those available in a wholesale price contract. Last, from the perspective of division of channel profits, the retailer is always worse off in case of returns policies than in a wholesale price contract. Therefore, to apply this form of incentive in practice, managements should consider the impact of price-sensitivity on the returns policy and its performance.
Z. Yao; Stephen C.H. Leung; K.K. Lai. Analysis of the impact of price-sensitivity factors on the returns policy in coordinating supply chain. European Journal of Operational Research 2008, 187, 275 -282.
AMA StyleZ. Yao, Stephen C.H. Leung, K.K. Lai. Analysis of the impact of price-sensitivity factors on the returns policy in coordinating supply chain. European Journal of Operational Research. 2008; 187 (1):275-282.
Chicago/Turabian StyleZ. Yao; Stephen C.H. Leung; K.K. Lai. 2008. "Analysis of the impact of price-sensitivity factors on the returns policy in coordinating supply chain." European Journal of Operational Research 187, no. 1: 275-282.
This paper investigates a revenue-sharing contract for coordinating a supply chain comprising one manufacturer and two competing retailers. The manufacturer, as a Stackelberg leader, offers a revenue-sharing contract to two competing retailers who face stochastic demand before the selling season. Under the offered contract terms, the competing retailers are to determine the quantities to be ordered from the manufacturer, prior to the season, and the retail price at which to sell the items during the season. The process of pricing and ordering is expected to result in an equilibrium as in the Bayesian Nash game. On the basis of anticipated responses and actions of the retailers, the manufacturer designs the revenue-sharing contract. Adopting the classic newsvendor problem model framework and using numerical methods, the study finds that the provision of revenue-sharing in the contract can obtain better performance than a price-only contract. However, the benefits earned under the revenue-sharing contract by different supply chain partners differ because of the impact of demand variability and price-sensitivity factors. The paper also analyses the impact of demand variability on decisions about optimal retail price, order quantity and profit sharing between the manufacturer and the retailers. Lastly, it investigates how the competition (between retailers) factor influences the decision-making of supply chain members in response to uncertain demand and profit variability.
Z. Yao; Stephen C.H. Leung; K.K. Lai. Manufacturer’s revenue-sharing contract and retail competition. European Journal of Operational Research 2008, 186, 637 -651.
AMA StyleZ. Yao, Stephen C.H. Leung, K.K. Lai. Manufacturer’s revenue-sharing contract and retail competition. European Journal of Operational Research. 2008; 186 (2):637-651.
Chicago/Turabian StyleZ. Yao; Stephen C.H. Leung; K.K. Lai. 2008. "Manufacturer’s revenue-sharing contract and retail competition." European Journal of Operational Research 186, no. 2: 637-651.