Sustainability

Amid the normalization of flexible employment, labor dispatch, as a form of non-standard employment, has become an important component of China’s precarious labor market (PLM). Based on registration data of labor dispatch firms from 2002 to 2022, this paper analyzes the spatial distribution and evolutionary patterns of China’s PLM, using spatial autocorrelation, kernel density estimation, and Gini coefficient methods. Furthermore, it explores its driving mechanisms through a panel negative binomial regression model. The results show that (i) over the past two decades, China’s PLM has undergone four stages: initiation, acceleration, expansion, and adjustment. (ii) Spatially, it has evolved along the trend of “reinforced clustering with concurrent diffusion,” expanding from first-tier cities in eastern China to second- and third-tier cities in central and western China. (iii) Industrial upgrading, market competition, and the overall level of urban development have significantly promoted the growth of the PLM, while improvements in accessibility, proportion of migrant population, and public service provision have somewhat restrained its expansion. Overall, China’s PLM demonstrates both growth potential and structural vulnerability under institutional constraints and external shocks, offering valuable spatial insights for forging sustainable, high-quality employment and coordinated regional development.

New ventures operating in volatile and unpredictable environments must rely on rapid adaptation and decisive action, making improvisation a critical entrepreneurial capability. This study examines how improvisation enhances new venture performance by uncovering the psychological and learning-based mechanisms through which its effects unfold. Drawing on the Knowledge-Based View (KBV) and Social Learning Theory (SLT), the model proposes that improvisation strengthens entrepreneurial self-efficacy, enabling entrepreneurs to approach uncertainty with greater confidence and adaptive judgment. Using a two-wave survey of 322 startup founders in Turkey and analyses conducted through PROCESS and complementary SEM estimation, the findings show that improvisation significantly boosts both entrepreneurial self-efficacy and new venture performance. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy emerges as a key mediating mechanism, indicating that improvisational experiences help entrepreneurs develop mastery, reinforce capability beliefs, and translate spontaneous action into improved outcomes. The results further suggest that improvisational episodes provide immediate learning cues that enhance situational awareness and decision-making agility, deepening the psychological pathway that links spontaneous behavior to venture performance. Additionally, relative explorative learning significantly moderates the relationship between improvisation and entrepreneurial self-efficacy, demonstrating that entrepreneurs benefit more from improvisation when they actively pursue new knowledge, experiment with unfamiliar approaches, and challenge routine assumptions. This moderating role clarifies when improvisation produces its strongest effects, while the mediating mechanism explains how performance improvements materialize through confidence-building processes. By integrating these mechanisms into a unified explanation, the study advances understanding of the improvisation–performance relationship and highlights the importance of learning-oriented behavior in converting spontaneous action into sustained entrepreneurial advantage. The findings offer theoretical contributions and actionable insights for entrepreneurs seeking to strengthen adaptability, resilience, and competitiveness in fast-changing environments.

Education and post-licencing training programmes for novice drivers are widely implemented to improve road safety, yet their effectiveness remains debated. This study evaluates short-term attitudinal changes relating to participation in a mandatory post-licencing training programme for novice drivers in Slovenia. A within-subject pre–post survey methodology was used to evaluate self-reported driving attitudes across six safety-related domains among 225 novice drivers at a Slovenian driving training centre in 2024. Paired t-tests revealed minor yet statistically significant improvement following the programme in perceived support for the additional driver training, lowered overconfidence, heightened care in speeding and intersection behaviour, and enhanced attitudes towards vehicle operation and utilization of safety equipment. Attitudes regarding attention and adherence to traffic regulations showed negligible shifts, indicating a strong baseline attitude towards safe driving. The findings indicate a modest but fairly consistent short-term change in attitudes after programme participation. Due to the lack of a control group and dependence on self-reported data, the findings should be seen as evaluative rather than causative, necessitating more longitudinal and behavioural research to evaluate long-term and behavioural effects.