Search Results (659)

Under the background of accelerating global transitions towards low-carbon development, digital intelligence transformation (DIT) has become a critical force that helps companies overcome green technological constraints and translate external green pressures into substantive green innovation. Taking the establishment of China’s NAIIDTZs as a quasi-natural experiment, this study investigates the impact of DIT on corporate green innovation (CGI) from an internal decision-making perspective. Based on a panel dataset of 19,440 samples from Chinese A-share listed companies during 2012–2023, our findings show that DIT significantly enhances both the quantity and quality of CGI. Mechanism analyses indicate that DIT promotes CGI’s quantity through increased R&D human capital input, while improving CGI’s quality through managerial myopia reduction. Heterogeneity analyses further reveal that the positive effects of DIT on CGI are particularly pronounced in firms operating under fierce market competition, in high industrial technological intensity, and in eastern regions. Furthermore, we find that CGI exerts a lagged effect on carbon emission reduction performance, while the effect of CGI’s quality is stronger than that of CGI’s quantity. These findings extend the dynamic capacity theory to digitalization and provide practical and policy implications for promoting CGI through digital intelligence development. Full article

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into marketing and sales has significantly reshaped the European digital economy, altering how companies engage with consumers and create online value. This research examines the impact of AI adoption on e-commerce performance across the 27 EU member states. Drawing on Eurostat data, it applies advanced statistical methods, including factor analysis, structural equation modeling (SEM), and cluster analysis, to examine the links among AI-powered business practices, digital engagement, and e-commerce outcomes. The results reveal a strong positive association between AI use in marketing and e-commerce sales, underscoring the mediating role of consumer digital behavior. Regional disparities are also evident: Northern and Western European economies lead in AI adoption and digital maturity, while Southern and Eastern nations show emerging potential for rapid growth. Overall, the study emphasizes that AI-driven marketing boosts e-commerce growth and digital competitiveness, aligning with the European Union’s broader goals of fostering innovation and technological integration. Full article

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. Full article

The mobility of data factors and the adoption of a collaborative innovation framework are key drivers influencing the gaps in total factor productivity (TFP) among enterprises in the digital economy. Using panel data from Chinese A-share listed companies between 2006 and 2022, this study empirically demonstrates how data factor flow reduces TFP gaps. The findings reveal that data factor flow enhances TFP convergence by facilitating knowledge diffusion, improving information transmission, and boosting innovation efficiency. However, the heterogeneity in enterprise RD efforts limits this convergence effect, highlighting the importance of collaborative innovation. The study further shows that the impact of data factor flow is more significant in smaller, privately owned enterprises in the eastern regions and in industries with low to high technology intensity and high market concentration. Key insights include (1) a positive synergy between government data openness policies and enterprise data flow, which reinforces the narrowing of TFP gaps; (2) a nonlinear relationship between data flow and TFP gaps, suggesting an optimal range for its maximum impact. The study concludes that an integrated framework optimizing both data governance and collaborative innovation ecosystems can foster innovation diffusion and support productivity-based competition. These findings provide valuable insights for innovation policy formulation and strategic decision-making in the digital economy. Full article

Functional food plays an increasingly important role in shaping healthy dietary habits by integrating health-promoting components into consumers’ everyday diets and helping reduce food waste. Products developed using by-products and raw material streams from food processing can support the principles of the circular economy (CE) by improving resource efficiency and lowering the environmental footprint of the food system. In Poland, as in many countries worldwide, functional food is a rapidly growing category that can contribute to public health and serve as a driver of economic development. However, the excessive and scientifically unsupported use of the term “functional food” for marketing purposes may mislead consumers and weaken trust in this product group. From a CE perspective, transparent communication and informed consumer choices are essential, as they promote environmentally responsible behaviors and support sustainable production models. The aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge about functional food among residents of Eastern Poland, which is a less industrialized and predominantly agricultural region. The analysis focused on awareness of health benefits, consumption frequency, consumer attitudes, and interest in educational initiatives promoting functional food within CE principles. The study also examined whether consumers associate functional food with sustainability-oriented practices. The findings offer insights for educational and marketing strategies grounded in scientific evidence and highlight the potential of functional food in building a sustainable, resource-efficient food system. Full article

Environmental regulations serve as a critical determinant of industrial competitiveness in the global market. Recent policy shifts have driven a gradual convergence of rural environmental standards with urban norms, fostering a dynamic landscape of “top-down competition” between urban and rural regulatory frameworks. While the economic consequences of regional regulatory disparities are well-documented, the specific impacts of this regulatory convergence remain insufficiently explored. To address this gap, this study constructs a novel index to measure the convergence of environmental regulations between urban districts and rural counties at the prefecture level. Utilizing an unbalanced panel dataset of 5600 county-level timber processing enterprises, the Heckman two-stage model is employed for empirical analysis. The results demonstrate that the convergence of urban and rural environmental regulations significantly enhances both the export probability and export intensity of county-level firms, with these effects exhibiting persistence and cumulative growth over time. These findings remain robust across a series of validation tests, including instrumental variable estimation, double machine learning, and alternative model specifications. Mechanism analysis reveals that regulatory convergence promotes exports primarily by improving access to green credit and enhancing peer quality within the industry. Furthermore, heterogeneity tests indicate that the positive effects are most pronounced for start-ups and firms in the decline stage, as well as for enterprises located in eastern China, those outside the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and those subject to minimal government intervention. This study provides critical micro-level evidence that helps enterprises navigate the evolving policy landscape and supports the formulation of strategies to boost export trade amidst the integration of environmental regulations. Full article

In recent years, with the growing intensity of extreme weather events, imbalances in energy supply and demand, and frequent regional conflicts, the stability of our energy systems faces increasing challenges. Against this backdrop, the green innovation ecosystem can optimize the energy system’s structure and operational efficiency by promoting multi-actor interaction and multi-element synergy, thereby enhancing its resilience. Accordingly, this study aims to reveal how the green innovation ecosystem drives improvements in energy resilience (ER) through factor configurations and to identify the pathways leading to high-ER outcomes. To address this, this study constructs a research framework of the “core layer–environmental layer–supporting layer” for the green innovation ecosystem, and selects seven conditional variables, namely dual green innovation, multidimensional environmental regulation, green finance, and digital infrastructure. Based on official Chinese statistics, panel data from 30 provinces were compiled, and the dynamic qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) method was used to analyze how multiple factors interacted from 2016 to 2022 to achieve high ER from a spatiotemporal perspective. The results show that: (1) There is no single necessary condition for achieving high ER. (2) Dual green innovation and public participation in environmental regulation play a universal role in achieving high ER. They are combined with green finance, market-based environmental regulation, and digital infrastructure, forming three configuration pathways for achieving high ER. (3) No significant time effect is observed. (4) Pronounced spatial heterogeneity exists. The eastern region focuses on the green finance-enabled pathway, the central region has a high coverage of all three pathways, and the western region has relatively weak overall adaptability. Based on these findings, this study argues that enhancing ER depends on the coordinated allocation of multiple factors, and there is no single optimal pathway. Policymakers should adopt a configurational mindset and select appropriate combinations of elements in light of regional development conditions to enhance ER. Full article

Green finance is increasingly expected to support decarbonization while enhancing productivity, yet evidence on whether green credit bonds raise green total factor productivity (GTFP) remains limited. Using panel data for 29 provincial-level regions in China from 2016 to 2023, we compute GTFP using a slacks-based measure Malmquist–Luenberger (SBM–ML) index and estimate two-way fixed-effects models. To address endogeneity, we employ a Bartik shift–share instrumental-variable strategy. We found that green credit bonds significantly increase GTFP, with gains driven mainly by technological change (TC) rather than efficiency change (EC). The effect is stronger in eastern and western regions, in provinces that are not low-carbon pilot areas, and in regions with stronger low-carbon governance orientation. Public environmental attention directly improves GTFP but dampens the marginal effect of green credit bonds. Mechanism analyses further indicate that the low-carbon transition of the energy mix (LCEM) is an important transmission channel. Overall, these findings suggest that scaling up and better targeting green credit bonds, alongside complementary governance and public scrutiny, can accelerate China’s transition toward higher green productivity. This provides sustainability-relevant evidence that market-based green finance can support decarbonization while sustaining productivity growth, contributing to long-term sustainable development. Full article

Exploring the impact of cultivated land transfer on grain green total factor productivity is of great significance in promoting efficient and low-carbon utilization of arable land and green and high-quality development of grain production in China. Based on the panel data of 30 provincial-level administrative regions in China from 2006 to 2022, this study employed the EBM model, Tobit model and mediation effect model to measure grain green total factor productivity across provinces, analyze its spatiotemporal evolution trends, and explore the influence and mechanisms of cultivated land transfer on the grain green total factor productivity. The findings revealed that: (i) The overall level of China’s grain green total factor productivity was relatively low, though it exhibited some improvement and regional differences during the sample period, with the highest level in grain-producing areas, followed by production-marketing balance areas, and the lowest level in grain-marketing areas. (ii) Cultivated land transfer had a significant positive impact on grain green total factor productivity. However, an excessively large scale of transferred cultivated land may also inhibit efficiency improvements. (iii) The impact of cultivated land transfer on grain green total factor productivity showed notable regional heterogeneity. In terms of coefficient magnitude, the impact was greater in production-marketing balance areas than in grain-producing areas, while it was not significant in major grain-marketing areas. The effect was stronger in the western region compared to the eastern and central regions. (iv) Cultivated land transfer could improve grain green total factor productivity through large-scale management of cultivated land, large-scale management of services and green production technology. Further analysis indicated a synergistic interaction between scale management and technological progress in green production within these pathways. To enhance grain green total factor productivity, it is essential to implement region-specific policies for cultivated land transfer and scale operations that account for local geographical and agricultural conditions. Specifically, policymakers should facilitate the integration of land scale management with service scale operation, while simultaneously promoting the coordinated advancement of scale operation and green production technology. Full article

Dark tourism communication in Eastern Europe remains insufficiently examined, despite the region’s complex post-authoritarian memory landscape and the growing use of storytelling in tourism marketing. This study aims to clarify how Romanian dark tourism campaigns construct meaning through narrative structures and affective framing. Using a qualitative multi-method design, the analysis integrates ten promotional campaigns and six semi-structured interviews with professionals from tourism, memorial institutions, and cultural organizations. Results reveal four recurrent narrative–affective clusters, sacral-memorial, historical-didactic, spectral-sensational, and hybrid commercial, each shaped by trauma referentiality, emotional framing, and specific calls-to-action. These configurations map consistently onto Stone’s thanatological spectrum and highlight how practitioners negotiate authenticity and ethical boundaries. The study contributes a transferable narrative–affective model for dark tourism communication and underscores the need for transparency, contextual sensitivity, and responsible storytelling in the marketing of trauma-related heritage. Full article

This study investigates the determinants of financial and market-based sustainability among listed Information Technology (IT) firms in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) between 2018 and 2024. Drawing on Agency Theory, Stakeholder Theory, Resource-Based View Theory, Dynamic Capabilities Theory and Legitimacy Theory, it examines how leverage, profitability, growth and earnings quality shape firm performance and valuation outcomes. Using a balanced panel of 266 firm-year observations from Poland, Romania, Hungary and Croatia, the analysis applies fixed-effects Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regressions with heteroscedasticity-robust (HC3) standard errors. The results reveal that lower leverage significantly enhances return on equity, confirming agency-based governance effects, while revenue growth and earnings per share (EPS) are strong positive predictors of profitability. On the contrary, rapid growth increases Stock Price Volatility, reflecting a risk–return trade-off typical of emerging technology markets. Market valuation ratios (P/E) show weak sensitivity to fundamentals, suggesting that investor confidence in CEE IT firms remains partially institutionally constrained. Overall, the findings emphasise that sustainable performance in transitional economies depends more on internal capability deployment and governance discipline than on market perception, highlighting the maturity gap between operational excellence and valuation transparency in the regional IT sector. Full article

The transfer price of land management rights, as a key component of deepening rural reform at the 20th National Congress, profoundly influences the direction of agricultural production. Analyzing the land transfer management rights price differences can provide a deep understanding of regional transfer patterns and promote efficient land transfer. This study employs the SES framework to investigate factors of land transfer price differences by integrating correlation regression with the Boosted Regression Tree model. The results showed that (1) resource units determine land transfer management rights prices, with agricultural output value and net arable land income serving as core determinants. (2) City W is in the nascent land market, where the resource systems (RS) exert stronger influence. Key drivers include the transportation accessibility index and the proportion of flexible land. Compared to County K, where the land market exhibits full competition, the primary drivers of price shift from the resource systems to the governance systems and actors. Land transfer participants and the number of rural economic organizations become the main factors. Within the same Eastern black soil region, the transfer price differed by several thousand yuan per hectare. This disparity stems from differences in the two driving structures, necessitating the precise implementation of land transfer policies. Full article

Forest carbon sinks (FCS)—referring specifically to ecosystem-based carbon sequestration provided by forest ecosystems—are being increasingly recognized as a strategic form of natural capital under China’s “dual carbon” goals. While the ecological value of FCS is being translated into economic benefits through carbon markets, eco-compensation, and green finance, the extent to which ecosystem carbon sinks can continuously drive regional economic growth—and how such effects differ across regions—remains insufficiently understood. Using panel data for 294 Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2010 to 2022, this study employs dynamic panel methods to examine the dynamic, nonlinear, and heterogeneous impacts of ecosystem-based FCS on economic growth. The results show that (1) FCS significantly promote economic growth but follow an inverted U-shaped pattern, indicating diminishing marginal returns; (2) notable regional heterogeneity exists, with the strongest effects in central and western regions, while eastern cities exhibit weaker responses due to structural and spatial constraints; and (3) clear threshold effects are present, suggesting that industrial upgrading, urbanization, and moderate government intervention can amplify the economic contribution of FCS. These findings clarify the mechanism through which FCS transitions from ecological assets to economic capital, providing theoretical and empirical support for sustainable forest management, ecological-industrial integration, and carbon market optimization in the pursuit of carbon neutrality. Full article

This case study evaluates the economic and energy efficiency of retrofitting a hospital heating system in Krakow, Poland, by transitioning from a district-heating-only model to a bivalent hybrid system. The analyzed configuration integrates air-to-water heat pumps (HP), a 180 kWp photovoltaic (PV) installation, and a 120 kWh battery energy storage (ES) unit, while retaining the municipal district heating network as a peak load and backup source. Utilizing high-resolution quasi-steady-state simulations in Ebsilon Professional (10 min time step) and projected 2025 market data, the study compares three modernization scenarios differing in heat pump capacity (20, 40, and 60 kW). The assessment focuses on key performance indicators, including Net Present Value (NPV), Levelized Cost of Heating (LCOH), and Simple Payback Time (SPBT). The results identify the bivalent system with 40 kW thermal capacity (Variant 2) as the economic optimum, delivering the highest NPV (EUR 121,021), the lowest LCOH (0.0908 EUR/kWh), and a payback period of 11.94 years. Furthermore, the study quantitatively demonstrates the law of diminishing returns in the oversized scenario (60 kW), confirming that optimal sizing is critical for maximizing the efficiency of bivalent systems in public healthcare facilities. This work provides a detailed methodology and data that can form a basis for making investment decisions in similar public utility buildings in Central and Eastern Europe. Full article

Water rights trading policies play a crucial role in optimizing water resource allocation, improving agricultural water use efficiency, and promoting the sustainability of both agriculture and the environment, while also providing strong support for achieving the ‘dual-carbon’ goals. Utilizing data from 291 prefecture-level cities between 2009 and 2023, this research applies the PSM-DID model to examine how the water rights trading policy affects the net carbon sink intensity in the planting sector. The findings are as follows: First, the water rights trading policy can significantly enhance the net carbon sink intensity of the planting industry, with an average increase of 1.110 tons per hectare. Second, the mediating effect model is employed to test the underlying mechanism. The results show that the water rights trading policy can play a role through two paths: reducing the proportion of food crop planting and reducing the use of fertilizer. Third, heterogeneity analysis is conducted using subgroup regression. The heterogeneity analysis reveals that the policy’s impact is more pronounced in cities characterized by abundant water resources, higher farmer incomes, and those situated in Eastern China. Fourth, a spatial-effect analysis is performed with the spatial Durbin model. The results further reveal that the policy not only directly enhances the net carbon sink intensity in the planting industry but also generates significant spatial spillover effects. In the future, efforts should focus on enhancing the market structure for water rights trading and reinforcing region-specific implementation strategies, guiding the green optimization of the planting structure, preventing the rebound effect of water conservation, and emphasizing the role of spatial linkage to create a new model of regionally coordinated low-carbon development in agriculture. Full article