Search Results (783)

To remain competitive and viable in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, organizations must strengthen their innovation capabilities. Innovative employee behavior often arises from disrupting established norms and deviating from conventional practices, making it crucial for organizations to focus on positive deviance. This study adopted organizational support theory to propose a parallel mediation model demonstrating how organizational support climate influences employees’ positive deviance. Based on a questionnaire survey distributed to 459 employees from Beijing, China, this study found that risk-taking willingness and workplace belongingness mediated the relationship between the organizational support climate and employees’ positive deviance. This study provides novel perspectives on the mechanisms of such behavior by highlighting that risk-taking willingness is a crucial factor in fostering positive deviance and that workplace belongingness plays an important role in bridging the two. Full article

This study examines the effects of firm characteristics on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance among A-share firms listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen. Drawing on the resource-based view, legitimacy theory, and agency theory, this study examines both direct and indirect mechanisms connecting corporate profitability, firm size, and ownership concentration to enhance ESG performance. This research employs secondary panel data from the CSMAR, DIB, and WIND databases (13,911 observations) and estimates two-way fixed effects models with firm-clustered standard errors. The outcomes show that profitability, firm size, and ESG performance have positive relationships, but ownership concentration is a negative factor in ESG performance. Market share and managers’ risk preferences mediate the relationship between firm characteristics and ESG performance; however, these effects are interpreted as exploratory due to panel data constraints. Internal control enhances these relationships, which emphasize the importance of the process of sustainability itself. The study provides practical insights that managers, policymakers, or investment firms can apply to improve ESG integration accountability in the emerging markets context. Full article

This study asks whether Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) incentives not only make economic sense on paper but also feel attractive to real validators who may be loss-averse and sensitive to risk. We take a canonical Eth2 slot-level model of rewards, penalties, costs, and proposer-conditional maximal extractable value (MEV) and overlay a prospect-theoretic valuation that captures reference dependence, loss aversion, diminishing sensitivity, and probability weighting. This Prospect-Theoretic Incentive Mechanism (PT-IM) separates the “money edge” (expected accounting return) from the “felt edge” (behavioral value) by mapping monetary outcomes through a prospect value function and comparing the two across parameter ranges. The mechanism is parametric and modular, allowing different MEV, cost, and penalty profiles to plug in without altering the base PoS model. Using stylized numerical examples, we identify regions where cooperation that pays in expectation can remain unattractive under plausible loss-averse preferences, especially when penalties are salient or MEV is volatile. We discuss how these distortions may affect validator participation, economic security, and the tuning of rewards and penalties in Ethereum’s PoS. Integrating behavioral valuation into crypto-economic design thus provides a practical diagnostic for adjusting protocol parameters when economics and perception diverge. Full article

Current research on disaster-adaptive resilience predominantly focuses on urban systems, with insufficient attention paid to the unique scale of traditional settlements and their formation mechanisms and pathways to systemic realization remain significantly understudied. There is also a lack of multi-dimensional coupling analysis and innovative methods tailored to the specific contexts of rural areas. To address this, this study innovatively introduces ant colony bionic intelligence, drawing on its characteristics of swarm intelligence, positive feedback, path optimization, and dynamic adaptation to reframe emergency decision-making logic in human societies. An evaluation model for disaster-adaptive resilience is constructed based on these four dimensions as the criterion layer. The weights of dimensions and indicators are determined using a combined AHP–entropy weight method, enabling a comprehensive assessment of settlement resilience. Taking Fenghuang Ancient Town as an empirical case, the research utilizes methods such as field surveys, questionnaire surveys, and GIS data analysis. The results indicate that (1) the overall resilience evaluation score of Fenghuang Ancient Town is 3.408 (based on a 5-point scale); (2) the path optimization dimension contributes the most to the overall resilience, with road redundancy design (C21) being the core driving factor; within the positive feedback mechanism dimension, soil and water conservation projects (C15) provide the fundamental guarantee for village safety; (3) based on these findings, hierarchical planning strategies encompassing infrastructure reinforcement, community capacity enhancement, and ecological risk management are proposed. This study verifies the applicability of the evaluation model based on ant colony bionic intelligence in assessing the disaster resilience of traditional settlements, revealing a new paradigm of “bio-intelligence-driven” resilience planning. It successfully translates ant colony behavioral principles into actionable planning and design guidelines and governance tools, providing a replicable method for resilience evaluation and enhancement for traditional settlements in ecological barrier areas such as the Qinling Mountains. Full article

In typical executive compensation structures, higher corporate ranks are associated with greater pay. However, the reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in China introduced strict salary caps for top executives, while lower-tier managers continued to receive market-based compensation, resulting in a phenomenon of pay-rank inversion—where subordinates earn more than their superiors. Leveraging this anomaly as a quasi-natural experiment, this study investigates the specific impact and underlying mechanism of pay-rank inversion on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) decisions and subsequent value realization within Chinese SOEs, thereby addressing the broad academic discourse on optimal executive compensation design. Employing a difference-in-differences (DID) approach with panel data spanning from 2007 to 2022, our analysis reveals that pay-rank inversion significantly reduces firms’ M&A intentions. Mechanistic analysis suggests that this negative effect arises primarily from diminished executive risk-taking. Furthermore, we find that the adverse impact is attenuated when CEOs possess longer tenures or receive equity-based incentives, but it ultimately undermines the realization of value post-M&A. These findings highlight the unintended consequences of high-level compensation reforms and emphasize the critical role of a well-structured pay hierarchy in sustaining executive incentives for strategic decision-making. Despite providing robust evidence, this study is subject to limitations, including its focus on measuring inversion only between the first and second management tiers. Future research should extend the analysis to the pay inversion between the listed firm and its controlling SOE group and explore alternative causal pathways beyond risk-taking, such as CEO work motivation, to deepen the understanding of high-level executive behavior. Full article

The dynamic monitoring of fishing activities is fundamental to fishery management. Leveraging multi-year (2020–2023) AIS data from squid jigging vessels, this study employed a multi-level data mining and spatial statistical approach to decode the spatiotemporal patterns of fishing effort in the Southeast Pacific Ocean. Our analysis reveals a highly concentrated and cyclical operation model: temporally, 20% of days contributed 46% of the total effort; spatially, 30% of the fishing grounds accounted for 80% of the effort, forming four persistent hotspots. Vessels exhibited a distinct bimodal speed distribution, enabling clear behavioral differentiation. While no fishing was detected inside the seasonal no-take zone, activities were observed near its boundaries and Exclusive Economic Zones, highlighting compliance and potential risks. The significant spatial aggregation, strongest in June, underscores the tight linkage between fleet operations and resource distribution. These findings provide a scientific basis for spatially explicit management strategies to ensure the sustainable harvesting of squid resources. Full article

Acquiring new experiences, especially in adolescence, shapes behavioral responses to life’s challenges. The absence of novelty-related experiences in laboratory rats raises concerns about their behavioral development and the reproducibility of research. This study examined changes in behavioral responses to novelty from early and late adolescence to adulthood, as well as the long-term effects of prior novelty exposure. To assess maturational differences, seven early adolescent, nine late adolescent, and seven adult male Wistar Han rats were tested once in a behavioral battery consisting of the novel arena, novel object exploration, light/dark box, and elevated plus maze. To evaluate the influence of prior experience, early and late adolescent groups were retested once more in adulthood. Late adolescents showed consistent patterns across spatial tasks, displaying increased anxiety-like behavior and reduced exploratory and risk-assessment activity. Early adolescents exhibited variable behaviors, resembling adult or late adolescent profiles depending on the task. Novelty exposure during adolescence produced subtle long-term effects, including reduced discomfort in mildly aversive environments, while late adolescent experience increased thigmotaxis in adulthood. Overall, adolescent responses to novelty were influenced more by spatial than nonspatial environmental features. These findings highlight stage-specific sensitivity to novelty, the influence of adolescent experience, and the potential reuse of experienced animals. Full article

This study takes the limited household participation in risky financial markets as its point of departure. Drawing on microdata from the 2019 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), we construct a multidimensional analytical framework using machine learning methods. The results indicate that this limitation arises from the interplay of multiple dimensions, with significant nonlinear relationships observed between these factors and household investment behavior. Insufficient development of key driving factors constitutes the main barrier to participation in risky financial markets. Feature interaction analysis reveals a “reversal effect” in how urban–rural disparities, economic attention, income level, and social engagement shape participation behavior. Educational attainment and financial literacy act as “threshold conditions” that enable economic attention to translate into actual investment decisions. The heterogeneity analysis further shows that households at different life-cycle stages as well as across urban–rural settings exhibit distinct participation patterns. These findings provide data-driven insights that can inform policies to promote financial inclusion, enhance investor education, and strengthen household risk management practices. Full article

This study investigates the impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance on the link between financial reporting quality (FRQ) and corporate risk-taking (CRT). Building upon agency and stakeholder theories, we contend that ESG practices represent a transparency mechanism that is distinct from the mainstream and addresses information asymmetry in environments susceptible to earnings management. Operationalizing the framework with panel data, we estimated panel regression models and generalized structural equation modeling (GSEM) to examine the hypothesized framework. The findings show that ESG performance mediates the relationship between FRQ and CRT. In particular, we found that in weaker institutional environments, higher FRQ is associated with greater ESG engagement, which leads to relatively prudent risk-taking behavior. These results demonstrate the significance of ESG as a governance mechanism and underscore the significant role of ESG in encouraging responsible corporate conduct and curbing excessive risk. This research contributes to the existing literature on integrated reporting and sustainable finance by demonstrating how effective ESG governance can bolster corporate resilience and support long-term value creation, especially within emerging markets. Full article

Neuropsychiatric interest in the relationship between glucose metabolism and criminal behavior dates back nearly a century. In particular, hypoglycemia was thought to play a causative role in some criminal acts, especially non-planned incidents involving impulsivity and in-the-moment risk-taking or aggression. While interest in carbohydrate metabolism in forensic populations faded in the 1990s, recent years have witnessed a renewed interest in metabolic dysfunction, mental health, and cognition. This area of research has grown increasingly robust, bolstered by mechanistic discoveries, epidemiological work, and intervention trials. Advances in microbiome (legalome) sciences, aided by omics technologies, have allowed researchers to match objective markers (i.e., from genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics) with facets of cognition and behavior, including aggression. These advances, especially the concentrated integration of microbiome and omics, have permitted novel approaches to the subject of glucose metabolism, and cast new light on older studies related to justice involvement. With current technologies and contemporary knowledge, there are numerous opportunities for revisiting the subject of glucose metabolism in the context of neurolaw. Here in this viewpoint article, we reflect on the historical research and emergent findings, providing ideation for future directions. Full article

The contemporary volatile business environment demands a shift from directive oversight to developmental leadership, given the complexity and rapid technological advancement characterizing modern workplaces. The Coaching Leadership Style (CLS) has emerged as a critical approach, linking extensively to enhanced employee engagement, performance, innovation, and psychological safety. However, the mechanisms by which coaching behaviors create these outcomes, especially the foundational element of safety, remain under-specified. Existing leadership research often lacks a replicable, mechanistic, and neurobiologically grounded model. This conceptual paper bridges this gap by integrating leadership science with interpersonal neurobiology. We propose Polyvagal Theory (PVT), a framework explaining the neurophysiology of safety and connection, as the missing mechanism that explains the effectiveness of CLS. We argue that the relational cues of a coaching leader (e.g., vocal prosody, attuned listening) are non-consciously detected via neuroception, shaping an employee’s autonomic state. We propose that these cues create physiological safety, which is the biological prerequisite that enables the interpersonal risk-taking and voice behaviors that constitute psychological safety. We then operationalize this synthesis by embedding PVT principles within the established 5E Coaching Model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Execute, Evaluate), offering a practical, state-aware framework for leaders. This paper contributes a testable, micro-to-macro pathway from leader autonomic co-regulation to team-level high-performance outcomes. Full article

We develop a hybrid framework for quantum parameter estimation in the presence of nuisance parameters. In this scheme, the parameters of interest are treated as fixed non-random parameters while nuisance parameters are integrated out with respect to a prior (random parameters). Within this setting, we introduce the hybrid partial quantum Fisher information matrix (hpQFIM), defined by prior-averaging the nuisance block of the QFIM and taking a Schur complement, and derive a corresponding Cramér–Rao-type lower bound on the hybrid risk. We establish the structural properties of the hpQFIM, including inequalities that bracket it between computationally tractable approximations, as well as limiting behaviors under extreme priors. Operationally, the hybrid approach improves over pure point estimation since the optimal measurement for the parameters of interest depends only on the prior distribution of the nuisance, rather than on its unknown value. We illustrate the framework with analytically solvable qubit models and numerical examples, clarifying how partial prior information on nuisance variables can be systematically exploited in quantum metrology. Full article

We introduce and describe a new risk-taking game, Helsinki Aiming Task (HAT), and test its construct (internal) and convergent (external) validity. HAT is a shooting game, in which the participants aim at a target under varying levels of “gun” inaccuracy and penalty for missing the target. It allows fine-grained examination of risk-taking behaviour, as it contains information on the effects of penalties and rewards on single, isolated decisions, immediately after each isolated event outcome. We validate HAT by studying individual responses to changing penalty levels and the accuracy of the “gun”, and by comparing it to behavioural and self-reported risk measures, personality traits, and socioeconomic variables. In study one (n = 51), we evaluated risk-taking responses (measured by aiming point) and their relation to other task variables (such as penalty levels and “gun” inaccuracy). In studies two to four (Ns = 66, 21, and 50), we evaluated the associations between risk-taking (measured by aiming point and accrued penalties) and sensitivity to punishment and reward (measured by shift in aiming after reward or punishment), and contrasted performance in HAT with performance in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) and self-reported risk variables. The game worked as expected: the participants became more cautious with increasing penalty levels and inaccuracy. The HAT risk-taking indicators (aiming point and accrued penalties) were weakly correlated with those of BART. HAT reward and punishment sensitivity was associated with extraversion, socioeconomic variables, and self-reported risk-taking. In combined analyses, HAT reinforcement sensitivity explained self-reported risk-taking rather well, whereas BART did not. HAT provides a new way to measure behavioural risk-taking, especially responses to positive and negative outcomes that could be interpreted as reward and punishment sensitivities. Full article

To investigate the causal factors and pathways leading to unsafe behaviors among special operation construction workers, this study employed Ability-Motivation-Opportunity (AMO) theory and case study analysis to identify causal factors across the ability, motivation, and opportunity dimensions. These factors were subsequently analyzed using an integrated approach combining the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory method, Interpretive Structural Modeling, and Bayesian Network (DEMATEL-ISM-BN). This analysis revealed the causal interrelationships, hierarchical structure, and primary causal chain for unsafe behaviors. DEMATEL results identified risk-taking propensity, weak responsibility awareness, inadequate supervision mechanisms, insufficient safety training, safety culture deficiency, uncertified operation, and safety knowledge deficiency as key causal factors. ISM results positioned safety culture deficiency, inadequate supervision mechanisms, and insufficient safety investment at the deepest level (Level 5), indicating their status as fundamental underlying causes. BN analysis determined the primary causal chain to be: Safety culture deficiency → Insufficient safety training → Safety knowledge deficiency → Uncertified operation → Risk-taking propensity. This study can provide theoretical support for the management of unsafe behaviors among special operation personnel in building construction. Full article

Background: Nutrition problems among primary school children increase the risk of illness, reduce school attendance, and impair academic performance. The Indonesian national school feeding program (ProGAS—Program Gizi Anak Sekolah) was developed to address these issues through the provision of healthy breakfast, nutrition education, and character building. Methods: This study employed a mixed-methods design involving 454 primary school students aged 8–14 years from 24 schools across four provinces. Data collection included structured questionnaires, 24 h dietary recalls, and anthropometric measurements. In-depth interviews with school principals, teachers, cooking teams, parents, students, nutritionists, and district education office staff were conducted to capture experiences and opinions on the ProGAS implementation. Results: ProGAS significantly improved students’ dietary diversity, meal frequency, handwashing with soap, and nutrition knowledge, alongside a positive trend in school attendance. Improvements included higher mean dietary diversity, increased proportion of students eating ≥3 meals/day, greater correct responses on balanced nutrition, and higher rates of handwashing before meals (all p < 0.01). Children also developed positive behaviors such as praying before meals, queuing, and taking responsibility for cleaning dishes. However, students’ breakfast habits did not significantly improve, the delivery of nutrition education was suboptimal, and no significant changes were observed in nutrient intakes or nutritional status based on BMI-for-age. While the energy and protein contributions of the ProGAS menu met the recommended 25–30% of daily requirements for breakfast, its micronutrient contributions remained below the recommended levels. Key management gaps include the delivery of nutrition education to students and the monitoring of implementation by local and national authorities. Conclusions: ProGAS demonstrated positive impacts on some dietary and hygiene practices as well as learning environment. To achieve greater improvements in breakfast habits, nutrient intake and nutritional status, it is recommended to strengthen the school feeding menus not only for dietary diversity but also for nutrient density, enhance capacity building for teachers, deliver regular and engaging nutrition education, and reinforce program monitoring. Full article