In situ polymerization of styrene was conducted in the presence of expanded graphite obtained by rapid heating of a graphite intercalation compound (GIC), to form a polystyrene± expanded graphite conducting composite. The composite showed excellent electrically conducting properties even though the graphite content was much lower than in normal composites. The transition of the composite from an electrical insulator to an electrical semiconductor occurred when the graphite content was 1.8 wt%, which is much lower than that of conventional conducting polymer composites. TEM, SEM and other studies suggest that the graphite was dispersed in the form of nanosheets in a polymer matrix with a thickness of 10±30 nm, without modi®cation of the space between carbon layers and the structure of the graphite crystallites. The composite exhibited high electrical conductivity of 10 À2 S cm À1 when the graphite content was 2.8±3.0 wt%. This great improvement of conductivity could be attributed to the high aspect ratio (width-to-thickness) of the graphite nanosheets. The rolling process strongly affected the conductivity and the mechanical properties of the composite.

PurposeThis study aims to examine how supervisor bottom-line mentality (BLM) influences subordinate unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB), considering the mediating role of subordinate moral disengagement and the moderating role of their power-distance orientation.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical model was tested using two-wave data collected from employees of five firms in southern China.FindingsSubordinate moral disengagement was found to mediate the positive relationship between supervisor BLM and subordinate UPB. Furthermore, for subordinates with high power-distance orientation, the positive relationship between supervisor BLM and subordinate moral disengagement and the indirect positive relationship between supervisor BLM and subordinate UPB were both strengthened.Practical implicationsFirst, organizations should train their employees to pursue goals ethically based on established standards and policies for acceptable behavior and to punish UPB. Second, organizations should strengthen employees' ethics and reduce their likelihood of moral disengagement. Finally, organizations should create an environment that allows subordinates to question their supervisors’ BLM.Originality/valueFirst, the results demonstrate that supervisor BLM is an antecedent of subordinate UPB. Second, the study sheds important new light on how employees respond to supervisor BLM through cognitive processes. Third, it examines the moderating role of subordinate power-distance orientation between supervisor BLM, moral disengagement and UPB.

According to self-determination theory (SDT), competence is among the three basic psychological needs essential for one’s well-being and optimal functioning, and the frustration of these needs is theoretically predicted to induce a restorative response. While previous studies have explored the restoration process of autonomy and relatedness, empirical evidence for such a process is still lacking for competence. In order to explore this process and to examine the effect of prior competence frustration on one’s motivation to win in a subsequent competence-supportive task, we adopted a between-group experimental design and manipulated one’s competence frustration through task difficulty in an electrophysiological study. Participants in both groups were instructed to work on the time-estimation task and the stop-watch task in two successive sessions respectively. Participants in the experimental group were asked to complete a highly difficult task in the first session and a task of medium difficulty in the second session, while those in the control group were instructed to work on tasks of medium difficulty in both sessions. In the second session, an enlarged feedback-related negativity (FRN) loss-win difference wave (d-FRN) was observed in the experimental group compared to the control group, indicating that the competence-frustrated participants have an enhanced motivation to win in a subsequent competence-supportive task. Thus, results of the present study provided original neural evidence for the restoration process of frustrated competence, which provided important guidelines for the managerial practice.

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With the accelerating urbanization process, the population increasingly concentrates in urban areas. In view of the huge population in China and a series of problems in the process of rapid urbanization, there are no unified measures for characterizing the population pattern. This study explores the distribution pattern of the Chinese population and proposes a spatial distribution structure of population using GIS (Geographic Information System) analysis. The main findings are as follows: (1) In 2015, the distribution of population density in China presents a pattern of high in the southeast and low in the northwest based on the county-level administrative regions. The population main lives in the southeast of China based on the “Hu Huanyong Line”. (2) There is a great difference of the spatial correlation between land area, population and GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in China. The economic concentration in China is higher than the population concentration. In the areas where population and GDP are aggregated, per capita GDP is higher. (3) Based on the areas with highly aggregated population and GDP, the spatial distribution structure of population of “1 + 4 + 11” for China’s urbanization is put forward, namely, one national-level aggregated area of population and GDP, 4 regional-level aggregated areas of population and GDP, and 11 local regionally aggregated areas of population and GDP. This spatial structure represents an attempt to explore the direction of China’s urbanization, and it can be used to optimize the spatial development pattern and provide scientific guidance for the future urbanization plan.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow impacts on regional innovation efficiency in China and whether the impacts of FDI are contingent on regional conditions that may maximize the effect of FDI on regional innovation efficiency. Design/methodology/approach Using panel data of 30 provinces from 2000 to 2010, the authors first used data envelopment analysis to measure regional innovation efficiency, followed by a spatial panel model to test research hypotheses concerning the effect of FDI on regional innovation efficiency and the direct and moderating effects of regional characteristics such as regional innovation environment, regional absorptive capacity and regional complementary assets. Findings The paper finds that there are considerable inter-regional and intra-regional variations in innovation efficiency in China and that regional variations in innovation efficiency in China can first be explained by the differences in inflow FDI and then be accounted for by the direct and moderating effect of regional innovation environment, absorptive capacity and complementary assets. Research limitations/implications The research findings have three policy implications. First, governments should continue their efforts to increase the transparency and predictability of the framework for inward FDI and align FDI with the region’s strategic priorities of development to improve innovation efficiency. Second, governments should develop holistic and coherent policies that address the key aspects of regional conditions conducive to the inflow of FDI. Third, governments at the regional level should cultivate an open innovation environment and support the development of financial markets to maximize the positive effect of FDI technology spillover and externalities. Originality value This paper fills a gap in research on the spatial heterogeneity characteristics of spillover effects of FDI on regional innovation efficiency.

Unethical pro-organizational behavior is a common phenomenon in businesses, and one that can cause great damage to them as well as to wider society. Although prior studies have investigated why individuals engage in unethical pro-organizational behavior, little research has been undertaken into why such behavior might be commonplace in organizations. The present study focuses on the downstream contagion of unethical pro-organizational behavior from leaders to followers. Drawing on social identity theory, we consider why leaders’ unethical pro-organizational behavior brings about corresponding behavior in their employees. Moreover, we predict that leader identification and moral identity will moderate this relationship. Using a time-lag study design, we collected a sample of 227 multisource time-lagged data with which to test our hypotheses. The results show that there is a significant positive relationship between leaders’ and employees’ unethical pro-organizational behavior, and that this relationship is stronger when employees have higher leader identification and lower moral identity levels. The theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed in this paper, as are the limitations of the study.

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