Fostering independent learning and engagement for postgraduate students

PurposeAs educational technologies are more widely adopted in higher education teaching and learning, publishers often include online resources to accompany their textbook offerings. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a study forming part of a larger ongoing evaluation of the third party software product WileyPLUS.Design/methodology/approachThe paper describes the integration of the publisher's tools into a specific curriculum context and takes a critical look at the pedagogical effectiveness of the software in this context. A mixed‐methods approach is taken in the study, using a small postgraduate accounting unit as a case study.FindingsWhile many students reported positive experiences with the third party resources, technical issues were a barrier to their effectiveness and many students did not engage with the optional resources. The unit convenor's experience was largely positive.Practical implicationsAlthough it may be tempting for unit convenors to adopt these tools and resources as readily available and easy to use, it is important that they are integrated into the curriculum and that students are supported in their use.Originality/valueOutcomes include a list of critical success factors and an evaluation framework that could be of use to other academics seeking to embed third party resources into their teaching.

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Optimal trade-in and third-party collection authorization strategies under trade-in subsidy policy

Kybernetes ◽

10.1108/k-07-2017-0254 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 47 (5) ◽

pp. 854-872 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Kaiying Cao ◽

Qiushi Bo ◽

Yi He

Keyword(s):

Design Methodology ◽

Profit Maximization ◽

The Other ◽

Third Party ◽

Subsidy Policy ◽

Content Type ◽

The Third ◽

Optimal Decisions ◽

The Third Party ◽

Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to study whether the recycling of a third party competes with the trade-in service of a manufacturer, and explores the optimal trade-in and third-party collection authorization strategies for the manufacturer. Design/methodology/approach According to whether to authorize a third party to collect its used products, the manufacturer has two choices: one is not authorization (NA); the other is authorization (A). This paper uses profit-maximization model to investigate the optimal decisions of the manufacturer and the third party under NA and A, respectively, and then explores which choice is better for the manufacturer. Findings It is observed that there is a competition between trade-in service and third-party recycling when the durability parameter of the used product is relatively small. Moreover, when the durability parameter of the used product is relatively large, A is always better choice for the manufacturer; otherwise, NA is a better choice except for the case that the unit trade-in subsidy is low and the salvage of the used product is high. Practical implications These results provide managerial insights for the manufacturer and the third party to make decisions in the field of recycling. Originality/value This paper is among the first papers to study the competition between trade-in program and third party’s collecting program under government’s trade-in subsidy policy. Moreover, this paper presents the conditions under which the manufacturer should authorize or not authorize the third party to collect its used products.

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UK election could force fresh poll by 2017

Emerald Expert Briefings ◽

10.1108/oxan-db198133 ◽

2015 ◽

Keyword(s):

General Election ◽

Third Party ◽

National Party ◽

House Of Commons ◽

Content Type ◽

The Third ◽

Liberal Democrats ◽

Scottish National Party ◽

The Third Party ◽

Opinion Polls

Subject Fresh election scenarios. Significance Opinion polls suggest that no single party will win an overall majority in the House of Commons on May 7. They also imply that the Scottish National Party (SNP) will do extremely well, substantially increasing its representation from its current six seats to around 25-45 seats. Furthermore, polls also indicate that the third party in terms of current parliamentary representation -- the Liberal Democrats, junior partners in the governing coalition -- may struggle to retain that status and could fall as low as 15-25 seats. If that occurred, the formation of a new coalition arrangement led either by the Conservatives or Labour would be much more complicated than in May 2010, when the election ended without an overall majority. This has led to speculation that another general election could follow relatively swiftly after May -- even within this calendar year. Impacts The May 2015 election may well not produce a result that can last for a five-year term. The Fixed Term Parliament Act 2011 makes the swift dissolution of parliament for a fresh election more challenging. Still, there is a scenario in which another contest could occur in 2015. However, a fresh election in 2016-17 is more likely than one held a few months later.

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A new coupled ARMA-FGM model and its application in the internet third-party payment forecasting in China

Grey Systems Theory and Application ◽

10.1108/gs-01-2018-0004 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 181-198

Author(s):

Shuhua Mao ◽

Xianpeng Wang ◽

Min Zhu

Keyword(s):

Rapid Development ◽

Arma Model ◽

Development Trend ◽

Third Party ◽

Percentage Error ◽

Volume Data ◽

Content Type ◽

The Third ◽

Online Payment ◽

The Third Party

Purpose With the rapid development of e-commerce in China, the third-party payment system greatly improved the efficiency and volume of the entire trading market. The purpose of this paper is to put forward a suitable prediction model to analyse its development trend. Design/methodology/approach The authors analyse internet third-party payments in China, taking into account online payment transaction values coupled with an ARMA model and the fractional grey model (FGM). First, the rolling FGM model is applied in order to characterise the trends of the transaction volume. The influence of the initial value change on the FGM model is analysed. The optimisation mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) model is constructed to determine the optimal translational values, the corresponding optimal accumulation order and optimal inverse accumulation order. Findings This paper uses China’s recent third-party online payment data to quantify its development trend. The authors find the coupling model suitable for the development trend of third-party online payment transaction. The results show that the model is suitable to quantify its development trend of China’s recent third-party online payment. Originality/value Considering the complex influence factors that lead to the third-party online payment volume data of time-varying grey feature, this paper combines the FGM with ARMA model to describe the development of third-party payment mode.

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The competition between B2C platform and third-party seller considering sales effort

Kybernetes ◽

10.1108/k-01-2016-0009 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 45 (7) ◽

pp. 1084-1108 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kaiying Cao ◽

Ping He

Keyword(s):

Design Methodology ◽

Free Riding ◽

Third Party ◽

Content Type ◽

Effort Level ◽

The Third ◽

Optimal Decisions ◽

Negative Effect ◽

The Third Party ◽

Practical Implications

Purpose By studying the competition between a B2C platform and a third-party seller, the purpose of this paper is to analyze and compare their optimal decisions and profits between cases with and without sales effort of the platform or third-party seller. Design/methodology/approach This paper studies the competition between a B2C platform and a third-party seller. The platform sells a product directly, and allows the third-party seller to sell a competing product on the platform. Based on whether the platform or the third-party seller makes sales effort, there are four scenarios. The paper analyzes the optimal decisions and profits of platform and third-party seller under each scenario, respectively. Findings The transaction fee has a negative effect on third-party seller’s sales effort level. What is more, the platform can take a free riding from the third-party seller’s sales effort, but the platform’s sales effort has a negative effect on the profit of third-party seller. Practical implications These results provide managerial insights for the platform and the third-party seller to make decisions. Originality/value This paper is among the first papers to study the competition between B2C platform and third-party seller.

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Agglomeration effect and the “dual-format” e-marketplace pricing scheme

Journal of Modelling in Management ◽

10.1108/jm2-06-2016-0048 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 19-35 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ping Su ◽

Shuguang Liu ◽

Jun Lin

Keyword(s):

Price Competition ◽

Third Party ◽

Feasible Region ◽

Content Type ◽

Market Expansion ◽

The Third ◽

Agglomeration Effect ◽

The Third Party ◽

Theoretical Evidence ◽

The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to study a dominant e-retailer operating its own e-marketplace (B2C) to host peer competitor as well as acting as a traditional retailer (“dual-format” retailing as in Mantin and Krishnan 2014). The dominant retailer offers a two-part tariff charging scheme to a third-party seller. The seller decides whether to join the e-marketplace. The present paper is interested in addressing the following questions: What is the pricing equilibrium before/after the formation of the e-marketplace? What will be the “optimal” charging scheme? What is the impact on the e-marketplace operator if the third-party seller has the option to become “featured”. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts a stylized model to capture the competition between the two retailers and applies game theory to solve the pricing equilibrium. The authors model the dual-format retailing in a two-stage decision: Stage 1, the e-marketplace operator offers a two-part tariff; Stage 2, if the other retailer is participating, they engage in a pricing competition. They assume that the e-marketplace operator is a profit maximizer by choosing its charging scheme subject to the condition that the participating retailer is no worse off. Findings The authors find that the e-retailer and the third-party seller in the e-marketplace are not always hurt by intensified price competition. They identify conditions under which higher expected prices are charged as a result of agglomeration effect. The authors’ model also provides theoretical evidence on this popular charging scheme, and shows the feasible region in which the e-marketplace operator could allocate the surplus resulted from the formation of the e-marketplace between itself and the participating retailer. Finally, the authors demonstrate that if the third-party seller has the option to become a “featured” retailer (He and Chen, 2006), it can be detrimental to the e-marketplace operator. Originality/value This work is different in three ways: First, the authors model an e-marketplace adopting a “dual-format” retailing, facing the trade-off between its direct retailing revenue and the rents collected from the member store, while the literature mainly focuses on e-marketplaces playing the intermediary role. Second, they explicitly model the “market expansion effect” caused by the agglomeration after the formation of the e-marketplace. The present study complements this stream of research by investigating and providing theoretical evidence on the charging scheme popularly adopted by the e-marketplaces and proposes ways to share the surplus to the participating store.

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Analysing the critical success factors and the risks associated with third-party logistics in the food supply chain: a case of coffee industry

Journal of Advances in Management Research ◽

10.1108/jamr-11-2020-0307 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Saket Shanker ◽

Hritika Sharma ◽

Akhilesh Barve

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Critical Success Factors ◽

Success Factors ◽

Fuzzy Topsis ◽

Third Party ◽

Future Research ◽

Third Party Logistics ◽

Content Type ◽

Critical Success ◽

The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyse various risks associated with third-party logistics (3PL) in the coffee supply chain and to present a framework that computes the influence of these risks on the critical success factors of the coffee supply chain.Design/methodology/approachThe risks have been identified through a comprehensive literature review and validation by industry experts. The paper utilises an interpretive structural modelling (ISM) methodology for developing a hierarchical relationship among the CSFs. Furthermore, fuzzy MICMAC analysis is carried out to categorise these CSFs based on their driving power and dependence value. The fuzzy technique for order preferences by the similarity of an ideal solution (fuzzy-TOPSIS) approach has been applied to prioritise the risks associated with 3PL based on their ability to influence the CSFs of the coffee SC. Furthermore, we performed a sensitivity analysis to analyse the stability of the results obtained in this study.FindingsThis study illustrates ten risks associated with 3PL and five CSFs in the coffee supply chain. The analysis revealed that coffee enterprises need to develop a balanced pricing strategy to ensure a sustainable competitive advantage, whereas the lack of direct customer communication is the most dominant 3PL risk affecting the CSFs.Practical implicationsThis research provides coffee enterprises with a generalised framework with set parameters that can be used to attain a successful coffee supply chain in any developing nation.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature by being the first kind of study, which has used fuzzy ISM-MICMAC to analyse the CSFs of the coffee supply chain and fuzzy-TOPSIS for analysing the impact of various risks associated with the 3PL in the coffee supply chain. Thus, this work can be considered a benchmark for future research and advancement in the coffee business field.

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