Search Results (157)

In the context of the explosive growth of the digital economy, how inter-organizational connectivity affects corporate ambidextrous innovation has emerged as a pressing issue in the current digital economy. Based on the perspectives of the innovation ecosystem and digital coupling, this paper explores the inner mechanism of this issue through structural modeling by using the data of China’s high-tech enterprise alliance cooperation from 2015 to 2022. It is found in the empirical study that the local efficiency and reach rate of the digital innovation ecosystem have an inverted U-shaped relationship with exploratory innovation, and the local efficiency and reach rate of the digital innovation ecosystem have a negative effect on firm exploitative innovation. In addition, the level of firms’ digital transformation mediates the relationship between the local efficiency, reach rate, and ambidextrous innovation. The level of market development plays a moderating role in the relationship between the local efficiency, reach rate, and ambidextrous innovation. The findings provide a theoretical basis for the digital innovation ecosystem to realize the role of a “resource pool” through structural connections, which in turn provides important guidance for the digital transformation and innovation development of high-tech enterprises. Full article

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat that affects humans, animals, plants, the environment, societies, and economies—requiring urgent coordinated action. In May 2015, the World Health Assembly (WHA) adopted the Global Action Plan (GAP) on AMR, urging member states to develop and implement their own National Action Plans (NAPs) using a One Health approach. Objective: Both South Africa and Eswatini have developed NAPs and are currently in the implementation phase. However, no study has explored policymakers’ perceptions regarding NAP implementation particularly concerning coordination, accountability, resourcing, regulation and ownership. Methods: This qualitative study employed a narrative approach to explore these perceptions in South Africa and Eswatini. A total of 36 key informants were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling methods. Data was collected between November 2018 and March 2019 and transcribed verbatim. Results: Findings revealed that while governance structures for implementing NAPs exist in South Africa and Eswatini, several critical areas require urgent attention. These include limited accountability across One Health sectors, the absence of dedicated national budgets for NAP implementation, poor intra- and inter- ministerial coordination, weak medicine regulation and enforcement, and delayed multisectoral ownership of the NAPs. Conclusions: To address AMR effectively, both countries must allocate dedicated budgets, improve multisectoral integration, and strengthen regulatory frameworks regarding antimicrobial access and use across all One Health sectors. A firm commitment from all sectors is required—not just formal endorsement of the NAPs—to ensure sustainable implementation and ownership. Full article

Firmware vulnerabilities in embedded devices have caused serious security incidents, necessitating similarity analysis of binary program instruction embeddings to identify vulnerabilities. However, existing instruction embedding methods neglect program execution semantics, resulting in accuracy limitations. Furthermore, current embedding approaches utilize independent computation across models, where the lack of standardized interaction information between models makes it difficult for embedding models to efficiently detect firmware vulnerabilities. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a firmware vulnerability detection scheme based on statistical inference and code similarity fuzzy matching analysis for resource-constrained vehicular network environments, helping to balance both accuracy and efficiency. First, through dynamic programming and neighborhood search techniques, binary code is systematically partitioned into normalized segment collections according to specific rules. The binary code is then analyzed in segments to construct semantic equivalence mappings, thereby extracting similarity metrics for function execution semantics. Subsequently, Google Protocol Buffers (ProtoBuf) is introduced as a serialization format for inter-model data transmission, serving as a “translation layer” and “bridging technology” within the firmware vulnerability detection framework. Additionally, a ProtoBuf-based certificate authentication scheme is proposed to enhance vehicular network communication reliability, improve data serialization efficiency, and increase the efficiency and accuracy of the detection model. Finally, a vehicular network simulation environment is established through secondary development on the NS-3 network simulator, and the functionality and performance of this architecture were thoroughly tested. Results demonstrate that the algorithm possesses resistance capabilities against common security threats while minimizing performance impact. Experimental results show that FirmPB delivers superior accuracy with 0.044 s inference time and 0.932 AUC, outperforming current SOTA in detection performance. Full article

In 2020, the Chinese government announced the “Dual Carbon” goals, making carbon responsibility the most prominent focus within the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices of Chinese firms. This shift creates a new type of ESG-washing, a practice involving the selective disclosure of information that portrays the firm in a favorable light, thereby leading stakeholders to overestimate its ESG performance. In this study, we define a novel type of ESG-washing behavior called “ESG carbonwashing”, in which firms disproportionately highlight their carbon responsibility initiatives while overlooking other dimensions of ESG. By adopting a strategy of excessively emphasizing their carbon-related efforts in ESG activities, these firms mislead stakeholders about their overall ESG performance. Using a sample of 59 high-carbon-emitting firms listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets from 2018 to 2022, we construct a systematic framework to measure the extent of ESG carbonwashing and further analyze its temporal and industry-level variations. Our key findings indicate that: (1) ESG carbonwashing has significantly increased alongside the rollout of the “Dual Carbon” policy; (2) there are significant inter-industry differences, with the steel and aviation sectors exhibiting the highest levels of ESG carbonwashing, while the building materials industry shows the lowest. This study offers valuable guidance for ESG information users in detecting and mitigating carbonwashing practices, while also providing robust empirical support for refining relevant regulatory frameworks. Full article

With the increase in greenwashing, corporate greenwashing governance has become a crucial component of urban environmental management. Industrial clusters are a key form of urban economic organization, yet the mechanisms through which they affect corporate greenwashing remain unclear. This study examines how different types of industrial agglomeration influence corporate greenwashing using a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies. The key findings include the following: (1) Specialized agglomeration inhibits corporate greenwashing through a “supervision” effect generated by intra-industry competition, while diversified agglomeration exacerbates greenwashing via a “collusion” effect arising from inter-industry cooperation. (2) The inhibitory role of specialized agglomeration is amplified under conditions of low public and strong government environmental concern, while the promotional effect of diversified agglomeration becomes more pronounced in contexts of high public and weak government environmental concern. Government environmental concern can be categorized into “general” and “specific” types, with the former being more effective in governing corporate greenwashing. (3) Specialized agglomeration demonstrates superior efficacy in curbing greenwashing among firms with green innovations related to energy-saving, alternative energy production, waste management, and transportation, while diversified agglomeration intensifies greenwashing tendencies in firms without green innovations. (4) Collusive greenwashing under diversified agglomeration yields short-term firm value gains but incurs hidden costs, including elevated operational risks and declining profit margins. This research provides critical insights for promoting corporate green transition and fostering zero-carbon industrial clusters. Full article

Background: In an increasingly digitized supply chain landscape, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face mounting challenges in regard to delivering differentiated and responsive customer experiences. This study investigates the role of Industrial Internet of Things-enabled coopetition networks (IIoT-CNs) in enhancing the customer experience and value cocreation among SMEs. Grounded in Service-Dominant Logic, this research explores how interfirm collaboration and real-time data integration influence key performance indicators (KPIs), including perceived product quality, delivery timeliness, packaging standards, and product performance. Methods: An experimental design involving SMEs in Portugal’s ornamental stone sector contrasts traditional operations with digitally integrated coopetition practices. Results: While individual KPI improvements were not statistically significant, regression analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between IIoT-CN participation and the overall customer experience. The reduced variance in the performance metrics further suggests increased consistency and reliability across the network. Conclusions: These findings highlight IIoT-CNs as a promising model for SME digital transformation, contingent on trust, interoperability, and collaborative governance. This study contributes empirical evidence and practical insights for advancing customer-centric innovation in SME-dominated supply chains. Full article

Identifying the structural characteristics of a collaboration network that influence firms’ exploratory and exploitative innovation performance can help these firms enhance the output of innovation achievements and their core competitiveness. Based on 14,790 issued patents of 281 firms in the artificial intelligence industry in China, this study explores the complex nonlinear relationship between the structural characteristics of inter-organizational collaboration networks and firms’ exploratory and exploitative innovation performance by using clustering algorithms and classifications based on information entropy or the Gini index. The results indicate the following: (1) The four characteristics of degree centrality, closeness centrality, the local clustering coefficient, and structural holes affect the exploratory and exploitative innovation performance of firms. (2) In different firm clusters, there are different characteristic combinations that provide firms with various development strategies to improve this performance. (3) There are different paths that firms can take to improve this performance, which should be comprehensively considered along with the development goals of firms. Full article

This study provides the first evidence of the propensity of globally large industrial US and European firms to adopt enterprise risk management (ERM) processes in response to the recent challenges of systematic global risks associated with pandemics (COVID-19), increased geopolitical risks (e.g., the Ukraine–Russia conflict), increased cybersecurity threats and the challenges posed by climate change and biodiversity loss. Consistent with the predictions of standard risk management theory, it is predicted that there is a positive inter-relationship between the propensity to adopt ERM and total firm risk, after controlling for various firm-related financial characteristics, complexity and sources of idiosyncratic risk. The empirical research is based on an industry-matched sample of the 100 largest US and European firms globally. The empirical results are generally consistent with these predictions, but for European firms, total firm risk is not associated with ERM adoption. Furthermore, there is no statistically significant relationship between sample firms’ risk-adjusted performance and their ERM adoption propensity, and there are also significant cultural–institutional variations that explain the differences between the ERM adoption practices between US and European sub-sample firms. The findings raise new questions about the validity of ERM in addressing globally important risk challenges faced by the largest multinational firms. Full article

Corporate financial resilience and its integration with institutional reforms play a crucial role in promoting organizational sustainability in the digital economy. Previous research has predominantly focused on internal determinants of corporate financial resilience. However, it has paid limited attention to the role of external institutional factors. This gap is particularly evident in the context of data factor marketization (DFM). We addressed this gap by investigating the impact of DFM on corporate financial resilience, drawing on resource dependence theory (RDT) to highlight the importance of the external policy environment and inter-organizational resource exchange. We employed a double machine learning (DML) framework to assess corporate financial resilience using comprehensive panel data from Chinese listed firms. This approach overcomes the limitations of traditional econometric methods by allowing nonlinear interactions and high-dimensional controls. The results show that DFM significantly enhances corporate financial resilience, with its impact varying across different institutional contexts. Additionally, firm characteristics moderate this relationship. Specifically, ownership structure strengthens or weakens the positive effect of DFM, while industry competition and geographical location have varying effects on resilience outcomes. We offered novel theoretical insights and practical guidance for policymakers seeking to leverage institutional reforms to enhance financial resilience within an increasingly volatile and uncertain business landscape. Full article

This research explores the interaction between inter-organizational trust, marketing channels, and market and financial performance (FP) in establishing sustainable global marketing channels using Industry 4.0 technologies. It is conducted within the relational exchange theory (RET) framework and transaction cost economics (TCE). The sample (N = 131) was collected through the marketing research firm Centiment. PLS-SEM and Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) were utilized as statistical methods. All hypotheses except the relationship between marketing channel operational performance and FP were accepted. This research highlights the vital role of inter-organizational trust in enhancing operational efficiency, profitability, and sustainability. It finds that trust fosters collaboration in global distribution channels, improving performance across multiple dimensions. Specifically, trust positively impacts marketing channel operations, boosting market performance. Nevertheless, all exogenous constructs were essential—“must-have” conditions for the endogenous FP construct. Applying the novel NCA is distinctive, primarily as it demonstrates that the relationship between marketing channel operational performance and FP is a necessary “must-have” condition, despite the insignificant path coefficient between the constructs. This is a crucial finding, as further investment in marketing channel operational performance and other antecedents of FP may be futile if the necessary conditions have not been met. Full article

This study examines the role of board experience diversity in fostering corporate green technological innovation (CGTI), focusing on the moderating effects of absorptive capacity and director network location. Integrating upper echelons theory with absorptive capacity theory, we explore how board experience diversity enhances strategic decision-making and innovation. We hypothesize that board experience diversity improves CGTI by broadening cognitive perspectives. We also examine the moderating effect of absorptive capacity on the relationship between board experience diversity and innovation. We examine Chinese A-share listing firms, finding that board experience diversity positively affects CGTI, and absorptive capacity strengthens this effect. Additionally, we show that director network location, proxied by centrality in inter-board networks, not only strengthens the association between board experience diversity and innovation but also affects innovation. Furthermore, we conducted heterogeneity and mechanism tests, confirming the robustness of these relationships. These findings contribute to the literature on corporate governance and sustainability by emphasizing the roles of board experience diversity, absorptive capacity, and network position in driving CGTI. Full article

This study investigates the economic role and spillover effects of Knowledge-Intensive Business Services (KIBS), one of the key instruments for sustainable economic growth, in South Korea and the United States from 2010 to 2020. KIBS, comprising Technology-Intensive KIBS (T-KIBS) and Professional KIBS (P-KIBS), serve as critical drivers of innovation within organizations and economic systems, fostering long-term economic sustainability. To rigorously assess the economic spillover effects of KIBS in promoting sustainable economic growth, this study examines how its impact varies based on industrial structure, economic scale, and firms’ capacity to leverage KIBS effectively, while also identifying key structural differences across national contexts. The findings reveal that both countries exhibit a similar economic function for KIBS, with T-KIBS categorized as a “primitive final demand type” and P-KIBS as a “primitive intermediate demand type”. However, the economic spillover effects of KIBS were more stable in the U.S., whereas South Korea experienced greater fluctuations. In particular, South Korea’s P-KIBS had a more pronounced impact on the secondary sector, particularly manufacturing. As of 2020, the production-inducing effect of South Korea’s P-KIBS on the manufacturing sector was 39.1%, while its value-added-inducing effect stood at 27.0%, and its supply-shortage effect reached 50.9%. These values exceeded those of P-KIBS in the United States and generally surpassed the economic spillover effects observed for South Korea’s T-KIBS. Furthermore, the inter-industry linkage analysis suggests that KIBS plays a more significant role as a raw material input within the U.S. economic system. In 2020, the forward linkage effect of U.S. T-KIBS was 0.853, while that of U.S. P-KIBS stood at 2.116. These figures were higher than the forward linkage effects recorded for South Korea’s T-KIBS (0.635) and P-KIBS (1.590), underscoring the stronger integration of KIBS into the U.S. industrial structure. Additionally, the supply-shortage effects were more significant than other economic spillover effects in both countries, underscoring KIBS’ critical function as a key production input. These findings underscore the necessity of differentiated policies for fostering and supplying KIBS based on each country’s industrial structure and economic characteristics. Given its pivotal role in economic growth, this study emphasizes the need for a stable supply of KIBS to ensure continued productivity and value creation. Furthermore, this study emphasizes the necessity of fostering innovation within the T-KIBS sector, particularly in research and development, to enhance its contribution to financial and organizational innovation. By developing strategic policies tailored to national economic conditions, countries can maximize the economic benefits Cof KIBS and strengthen their long-term economic sustainability. Full article

Green hydrogen and ammonia are forecast to play key roles in the deep decarbonization of the global economy. Here we explore the potential of using green hydrogen and ammonia to couple the energy, agriculture, and industrial sectors with India’s national-scale electricity grid. India is an ideal test case as it currently has one of the most ambitious hydrogen programs in the world, with projected electricity demands for hydrogen and ammonia production accounting for over 1500 TWh/yr or nearly 25% of India’s total electricity demand by 2050. We model the ambitious deep decarbonization of India’s electricity grid and half of its steel and fertilizer industries by 2050. We uncover modest risks for India from such a strategy, with many benefits and opportunities. Our analysis suggests that a renewables-based energy system coupled with ammonia off-take sectors has the potential to dramatically reduce India’s greenhouse emissions, reduce requirements for expensive long-duration energy storage or firm generating capacity, reduce the curtailment of renewable energy, provide valuable short-duration and long-duration load-shifting and system resilience to inter-annual weather variations, and replace tens of billions of USD in ammonia and fuel imports each year. All this while potentially powering new multi-billion USD green steel and maritime fuel export industries. The key risk for India in relation to such a strategy lies in the potential for higher costs and reduced benefits if the rest of the world does not match their ambitious investment in renewables, electrolyzers, and clean storage technologies. We show that such a pessimistic outcome could result in the costs of green hydrogen and ammonia staying high for India through 2050, although still within the range of their gray counterparts. If on the other hand, renewable and storage costs continue to decline further with continued global deployment, all the above benefits could be achieved with a reduced levelized cost of hydrogen and ammonia (10–25%), potentially with a modest reduction in total energy system costs (5%). Such an outcome would have profound global implications given India’s central role in the future global energy economy, establishing India’s global leadership in green shipping fuel, agriculture, and steel, while creating an affordable, sustainable, and secure domestic energy supply. Full article

The purpose of this study is to examine the interaction between Industry 4.0 technologies, inter-organizational trust, sustainable distributor channel development, and marketing channel operational performance. The research employed a quantitative approach, collecting data from 131 respondents in Canadian and U.S. global firms with over 400 employees. The analysis utilized partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA). The study revealed that inter-organizational trust is both a significant determinant and a necessary condition for marketing channel operational performance. While Industry 4.0 technologies emerged as a significant determinant, they were not identified as a “must-have” necessary condition. Notably, distributor sustainability development proved to be an insignificant determinant, but still a “must-have” necessary condition for marketing channel operational performance. This study uniquely contributes to understanding Industry 4.0 and marketing channel dynamics by integrating inter-organizational trust analysis with NCA methodology. By identifying trust as a significant determinant and a “must-have necessary condition”, the research provides practical guidance for managers navigating technological adoption in global marketing channels. The findings challenge conventional assumptions about sustainable development while emphasizing trust’s crucial role in the digital age, offering valuable insights for achieving high marketing channel operational performance during the transformation to Industry 4.0. Full article

Traditional assessments of balance and postural control often face challenges related to accessibility, cost, subjectivity, and inter-rater reliability. With advancements in technology, smartphones equipped with inertial measurement units (IMUs) are emerging as a promising tool for assessing postural control, measuring both static and dynamic motion. This study aimed to develop and validate a novel smartphone application by comparing it with research-grade posturography instruments, including motion capture and force plate systems to establish construct- and criterion-related validity. Twenty-two participants completed the quiet stance under varying visual (eyes open—EO; eyes closed—EC) and surface (Firm vs. Foam) conditions, with data collected from the smartphone, force plate, and motion capture systems. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and Pearson correlation coefficients assessed the reliability and validity for all outcome measures (sway area and sway velocity). The results demonstrated reliability, with strong validity between the devices. A repeated-measures ANOVA found no significant differences between the devices. Postural outcomes revealed the significant main effects of both the visual (EO vs. EC) and surface (Firm vs. Foam) conditions. In conclusion, the study demonstrated the validity, sensitivity, and accuracy of the custom-designed smartphone app, offering the potential for bridging the gap between at-home and clinical balance assessments. Full article