Extant research shows that resources are significant to a firm's choice of alliance formation. We focus on an important form of intangible resource-firm reputation-and examine how it affects a firm's propensity to form alliances. We propose an inverted U-shaped relationship between a firm's reputation and its likelihood of alliance formation, resulting from the opposing mechanisms of opportunity and need. We also examine how this relationship may vary across two contingencies: (1) foreign and domestic firms; and (2) different levels of institutional development. Empirical analyses of China's venture capital (VC) industry provide support for our hypotheses.

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This paper examines the status of boundaries in organizational theory. Tacitly if not explicitly, most researchers view organizations as bounded, tightly coupled and more or less rational systems. Yet organizations may also be open, loosely coupled, hierarchically nested systems whose boundaries are indefinite. In the case of China, incomplete separation of firms from the state, incomplete integration of firms and partial listing of assets have left most Chinese firms with indefinite boundaries. While many Chinese firms are disadvantaged by indefinite boundaries, some have managed their boundaries advantageously. The Chinese group corporation described here has resisted interference from its state owners, one of whom tried but failed to turn it into a captive supplier. It has secured full operational and financial control of subsidiaries despite their independent legal status, fractional local government ownership, and local government representation on their boards. And it has successfully funded and executed an aggressive acquisition strategy and now dominates its industry globally. There are lessons specific to the Chinese context. The most important is that boundaries should be assumed indefinite unless shown otherwise. And there are lessons about firms in emerging economies. Indefinite boundaries are characteristic of such firms; indefinite boundaries pose either threats or opportunities depending on the strategic response; lastly, managing indefinite boundaries will be a key strategic priority and a precondition of finding and exploiting market opportunities.

A resonant/off-resonant hybrid excitation of a piezoelectric stick-slip actuator is proposed in this paper. It is accomplished by a resonant sinusoidal friction regulation wave (RSFR-wave) and an off-resonant saw-tooth wave (ORST-wave). The RSFR-wave is applied to the rapid deformation stage of the ORST-wave. In this stage, the first-order longitudinal vibration mode of the stator can be obtained. By this longitudinal vibration mode, the kinetic friction between the slider and frictional rod is obviously decreased utilizing ultrasonic friction reduction. The backward displacement is remarkably restrained. The high velocity, large mass of load and smooth displacement are achieved. The operation principle of hybrid excitation was discussed in detail, and a prototype was simulated, designed, and fabricated. A series of experiments were carried out and the results indicate that the step efficiency under the saw-tooth excitation and resonant/off-resonant hybrid excitation can realize 36.9% and 91.2%, respectively. The output velocity is increased by 147.23% relative to saw-tooth excitation. The minimum input power and the minimum driving voltage are decreased by 89.56% and 58.33%, respectively. Besides, the maximum mass of load capacity is 2.88 times that of saw-tooth excitation. The driving capacity of the actuator is increased by 466.13%.

Using triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) to harvest blue energy in the ocean is advanced technology at present. In wave environments, the wave magnitude is constantly changing, so designing a TENG that can adjust the energy harvesting ability is necessary. Herein, a graded energy harvesting triboelectric nanogenerator (GEH-TENG) is fabricated, in which double generation units can operate in different transmission states to adapt to wave changes. Under small waves, the GEH-TENG is in the primary transmission state. Once waves are large enough, it enters the secondary transmission state, realizing graded energy harvesting to enhance power generation performance. Experiments show that when the input frequency is 1.0 Hz and the amplitude is 120 mm, the GEH-TENG can generate 0.7 mJ of energy in a single operation cycle, which is 2.3 times of it without grading. Moreover, it can be placed on the shore to monitor ocean wave conditions. An idea of graded energy harvesting is proposed in this study, and the proposal provides useful guidance for practical applications of TENGs in ocean wave condition monitoring.

The smooth impact drive mechanism (SIDM) is a type of piezoelectric actuator that has been developed for several decades. As a kind of driving method for the SIDM, the traditional sawtooth (TS) wave is always employed. The kinetic friction force during the rapid contraction stage usually results in the generation of a backward motion. A friction regulation hybrid (FRH) driving method realized by a composite waveform for the backward motion restraint of the SIDM is proposed in this paper. The composite waveform is composed of a sawtooth driving (SD) wave and a sinusoidal friction regulation (SFR) wave which is applied to the rapid deformation stage of the SD wave. A prototype of the SIDM was fabricated and its output performance under the excitation of the FRH driving method and the TS wave driving method was tested. The results indicate that the backward motion can be restrained obviously using the FRH driving method. Compared with the driving effect of the TS wave, the backward rates of the prototype in forward and reverse motions are decreased by 83% and 85%, respectively.

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In recent years, the triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has attracted increasing attention because it not only converts various mechanical energy into electrical energy but also produces electrical signals as responses. On the basis of the TENG, a magnetic flap type difunctional sensor (MFTDS) has been developed to detect pneumatic flow and liquid level. Consisting of an outer magnetic flap, an inner magnetic float, and a conical cavity, its working mechanism and output characteristics were studied. The MFTDS detects pneumatic flows from 10 to 200 L/min with a flow resolution of 2 L/min. Compared with a commercial flow switch, the MFTDS results are in good agreement. Moreover, the MFTDS detects changes in liquid levels. The effects of liquid level height and flow rate on the performance of the MFTDS were measured and compared with a commercial liquid-level sensor. The results indicate that the output voltage of the MFTDS varies linearly with height but is independent of flow rate. The heights of liquid level from 30 to 130 mm were effectively detected. This work promotes the prospect for multifunctional triboelectric sensors.