Search Results (1,394)

This paper selects 50 listed commercial banks in China from 2012 to 2023 as research samples, and employs the fixed effects model and Hansen’s threshold regression method to systematically examine the impact mechanism and non-linear characteristics of FinTech development on the profitability of commercial banks. The key findings are summarized as follows: (1) FinTech significantly undermines the overall profitability of commercial banks by reshaping the competitive landscape of the industry and intensifying the technology substitution effect. This is primarily reflected in the reduction in traditional interest income and the erosion of market share in intermediary business. (2) Heterogeneity analysis indicates that large state-owned banks and joint-stock banks experience more pronounced negative impacts compared to small and medium-sized banks. (3) Additional research findings reveal a significant single-threshold effect between FinTech and bank profitability, with a critical value of 4.169. When the development level of FinTech surpasses this threshold, its inhibitory effect diminishes substantially, suggesting that after achieving a certain degree of technological integration, commercial banks may partially alleviate external competitive pressures through synergistic effects. This study offers crucial empirical evidence and theoretical support for commercial banks to develop differentiated technology strategies and for regulatory authorities to design dynamically adaptable policy frameworks. Full article

This study explores whether sustainability achievements—proxied through ESG (environmental, social, and governance) reporting—are associated with superior financial performance in Latvia’s manufacturing sector, where ESG maturity remains low and institutional readiness is still emerging. Building on stakeholder, legitimacy, signal, slack resources, and agency theories, this study applies a mixed-method approach (that consists of two analytical stages) suited to the limited availability and reliability of ESG-related data in the Latvian manufacturing sector. Financial indicators from three large firms—AS MADARA COSMETICS, AS Latvijas Finieris, and AS Valmiera Glass Grupa—are compared with industry averages over the 2019–2023 period using independent sample T-tests. ESG integration is evaluated through a six-stage conceptual schema ranging from symbolic compliance to performance-driven sustainability. The results show that AS MADARA COSMETICS, which demonstrates advanced ESG integration aligned with international standards, significantly outperforms its industry in all profitability metrics. In contrast, the other two companies remain at earlier ESG maturity stages and show weaker financial performance, with sustainability disclosures limited to general statements and outdated indicators. These findings support the synergy hypothesis in contexts where sustainability is internalized and operationalized, while also highlighting structural constraints—such as resource scarcity and fragmented data—that may limit ESG-financial alignment in post-transition economies. This study offers practical guidance for firms seeking competitive advantage through strategic ESG integration and recommends policy actions to enhance ESG transparency and performance in Latvia, including performance-based reporting mandates, ESG data infrastructure, and regulatory alignment with EU directives. These insights contribute to the growing empirical literature on ESG effectiveness under constrained institutional and economic conditions. Full article

In the context of the global response to climate change and the active promotion of energy transformation, a number of low-carbon policies coupled with the development of synergies to help power system transformation is an important initiative. However, the insufficient articulation of the green power market, tradable green certificate (TGC) market, and carbon emission trading (CET) mechanism, and the ambiguous policy boundaries affect the trading decisions made by its market participants. Therefore, this paper systematically analyses the composition of the main players in the electricity-CET-TGC markets and their relationship with each other, and designs the synergistic mechanism of the electricity-CET-TGC markets, based on which, it constructs the optimal profit model of the thermal power plant operators, renewable energy manufacturers, power grid enterprises, power users and load aggregators under the electricity-CET-TGC markets synergy, and analyses the behavioural decision-making of the main players in the electricity-CET-TGC markets as well as the electric power system to optimise the trading strategy of each player. The results of the study show that: (1) The synergistic mechanism of electricity-CET-TGC markets can increase the proportion of green power grid-connected in the new type of power system. (2) In the selection of different environmental rights and benefits products, the direct participation of green power in the market-oriented trading is the main way, followed by applying for conversion of green power into China certified emission reduction (CCER). (3) The development of independent energy storage technology can produce greater economic and environmental benefits. This study provides policy support to promote the synergistic development of the electricity-CET-TGC markets and assist the low-carbon transformation of the power industry. Full article

This research aims to investigate financing decisions of capital-constrained small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) manufacturers and distributors under a Green Supply Chain (GSC) framework. By evaluating the impact of Supply Chain Finance (SCF) instruments, this study utilizes Stackelberg game model to explore a decentralized decision-making system. To our knowledge, this investigation represents the first exploration of game models that uniquely compares financing through trade credit, where the manufacturer offers zero-interest credit without discounts with reverse factoring, while also considering distributor’s efforts on sustainable marketing under the impact of supportive government policies. Our study suggests that manufacturers should adopt reverse factoring for optimal profits and actively participate in distributors’ financing decisions to address inefficiencies in decentralized systems. Furthermore, the distributor’s demand quantity, profits and sustainable marketing efforts show significant increase under reverse factoring, aided by favorable policies. Finally, the results are validated through Python 3.8.8 simulations in the Anaconda distribution, offering meaningful insights for policymakers and supply chain managers. Full article

In UGC-based knowledge trading platforms, the abundance of personalized content often leads to varying quality levels. By incorporating embedded advertising, platforms can incentivize knowledge producers to produce high-quality content; however, the uncertainty in managing embedded advertisements increases the complexity of pricing knowledge products. This paper examines the impact of embedded advertising on the pricing of knowledge products, aims to maximize the profits of both knowledge producer and the platform. Based on Stackelberg game theory, two pricing decision models are developed under different advertising management modes: the platform-managed mode (where the platform determines the advertising intensity) and the advertiser-managed mode (where the advertiser determines the advertising intensity). The study analyzes the effects of UGC product quality, consumer sensitivity to advertising, and power structure on knowledge product pricing, and derives threshold conditions for optimal pricing. The results indicate that (1) When the quality of UGC knowledge product exceeds a certain threshold, platform-managed advertising becomes profitable. (2) Under the platform-managed mode, both the platform and knowledge producer can adopt price-increasing strategies to enhance profits. (3) Under the advertiser-managed mode, the platform can leverage differences in power structure to optimize revenue, while knowledge producer can actively enhance his pricing power to achieve mutual benefits with the platform. This study provides theoretical support and practical guidance for advertising cooperation mechanisms and pricing strategies for knowledge products in UGC-based knowledge trading platforms. Full article

The work presents a comprehensive analysis and costing of sugar beet cultivation in 2020–2022, for individual farms of the Lublin region. About 120 farms were analyzed. Based on this analysis, the criteria for a model farm were determined and adopted for the calculation of sugar beet production costs. ARIMA process modeling was performed, based on which forecasts were determined for several selected parameters. Customs tariffs introduced by the USA have a drastic impact on the economy. The effects of the COVID19 pandemic may also have a significant impact on the current market situation. Forecasting in the current geopolitical situation is very difficult because of the lack of stationarity of parameters. The financial result obtained by growers is mainly influenced by indirect costs absorbing 61.31% of total costs in 2020. In 2021 and 2022, indirect costs were 61.16% and 59.61% of production income, respectively. Among this group of costs, the largest share is accounted for by the costs of sowing services, sugar beet harvesting, and soil liming amounting from 14.27% to 15.92%. During the analyzed period, sugar beet cultivation remained profitable, with a production profitability index of 1.31 in 2020 and 2021, and 1.10 in 2022. The unit cost of production increased every year. In 2020, it was 14.27% and in 2021, it increased to 15.19%. The unit cost of production in 2022 was the highest, at 23.41%. Sugar beet cultivation is one of the profitable activities in agricultural production, but it is characterized by high production costs, which increased during the years analyzed (2020 to 2022), topping out at 90.87% of total revenue. The information and data presented in this study will be used in the development of a farmer-oriented application and will support the creation of an expert system for sugar beet growers. Cost forecasting will enable farmers to plan their production more effectively. Full article

Background/Objectives: Military Service Members (SMs) require optimal nutrition to support health, readiness, and job performance. However, they often fall short of meeting nutrition guidelines. This study aimed to determine the impact and feasibility of implementing the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) “Fueled to Fight^®” (F2F) nutrition program in non-appropriated fund (NAF) food venues. Objectives included evaluating changes in Military Nutrition Environment Assessment Tool (mNEAT) scores, feasibility of implementing and maintaining F2F strategies, and influence on customer purchasing patterns. Methods: Researchers conducted a pre-post interventional study from January to December 2024 at three NAF food venues across two USMC bases. F2F strategies, including identifying items using a stoplight color coding system (Green = healthy, Yellow = less healthy, Red = least healthy), menu revisions, food placement, promotion, and marketing, were implemented. Data included mNEAT assessments, sales reports, and stakeholder focus groups. Generalized Estimating Equations models were used to analyze sales data. Results: mNEAT scores increased across all venues post-intervention. Availability and sales of Green items increased, while sales of Red items decreased in some venues. Profit increased at all three food venues. Focus groups revealed feasibility and provided insights for future interventions. Conclusions: F2F interventions in NAF food venues are feasible and can positively impact the food environment and customer purchasing patterns without negatively affecting profit. This study highlights the importance of integrating nutrition programs into all military food venues, not just government-funded dining facilities, to support the nutritional fitness and readiness of SMs. Full article

This study develops an integrated environmental–economic assessment framework to evaluate the life cycle environmental impacts and economic costs of CO₂ geological storage and produced water treatment in saline formations in China. Using a case study of a saline aquifer carbon storage project in the Ordos Basin, eight full-chain carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) scenarios were analyzed. The results indicate that environmental and cost performance are primarily influenced by technology choices across carbon capture, transport, and storage stages. The scenario employing potassium carbonate-based capture, pipeline transport, and brine reinjection after a reverse osmosis treatment (S5) achieved the most balanced outcome. Breakeven analyses under three carbon price projection models revealed that carbon price trajectories critically affect project viability, with a steadily rising carbon price enabling earlier profitability. By decoupling CCUS from power systems and focusing on unit CO₂ removal, this study provides a transparent and transferable framework to support cross-sectoral deployment. The findings offer valuable insights for policymakers aiming to design effective CCUS support mechanisms under future carbon neutrality targets. Full article

To address the limited flexibility of pumped storage power stations (PSPSs) under hierarchical clearing of energy and ancillary service markets, this study proposes a joint clearing mechanism for multi-level electricity markets. A bi-level optimization model based on the Stackelberg game is developed to characterize the strategic interaction between PSPSs and the market operator. Simulation results on the IEEE 30-bus system demonstrate that the proposed mechanism captures the dynamics of nodal supply and demand, as well as time-varying network congestion. It guides PSPSs to operate more flexibly and economically. Additionally, the mechanism increases PSPS profitability, reduces system costs, and improves frequency regulation performance. This game-theoretic framework offers quantitative decision support for PSPS participation in multi-level spot markets and provides insights for optimal storage deployment and market mechanism improvement. Full article

The sharing economy is considered to be a potentially efficacious approach for promoting sustainable production and consumption (SPC). This study utilizes dockless bike sharing (DBS) in Beijing as a case study to examine how sharing economy policies and business practices advance SPC. It also dynamically quantifies the environmental and economic performance of DBS practices from a life cycle perspective. The findings indicate that effective SPC practices can be achieved through the collaborative efforts of multiple stakeholders, including the government, operators, manufacturers, consumers, recycling agencies, and other business partners, supported by regulatory systems and advanced technologies. The SPC practices markedly improved the sustainability of DBS promotion in Beijing. This is evidenced by the increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction benefits, which have risen from approximately 35.81 g CO₂-eq to 124.40 g CO₂-eq per kilometer of DBS travel. Considering changes in private bicycle ownership, this value could reach approximately 150.60 g CO₂-eq. Although the economic performance of DBS operators has also improved, it remains challenging to achieve profitability, even when considering the economic value of the emission reduction benefits. In certain scenarios, DBS can maximize profits by optimizing fleet size and efficiency, without compromising the benefits of emission reductions. The framework of stakeholder interaction proposed in this study and the results of empirical analysis not only assist regulators, businesses, and the public in better understanding and promoting sustainable production and consumption practices in the sharing economy but also provide valuable insights for achieving a win-win situation of platform profitability and environmental benefits in the SPC practice process. Full article

Mangoes are an important part of Hainan’s tropical characteristic agriculture. In response to the requirements of building an ecological civilization pilot demonstration zone in Hainan, China, green and sustainable development will be the future development trend of the mango planting system. However, the economic benefits and environmental impact during its planting and management process remain unclear. This paper combines emergy, life cycle assessment (LCA), and economic analysis to compare the system sustainability, environmental impact, and economic benefits of the traditional mango cultivation system (TM) in Dongfang City, Hainan Province, and the early-maturing mango cultivation system (EM) in Sanya City. The emergy evaluation results show that the total emergy input of EM (1.37 × 10¹⁶ sej ha⁻¹) was higher than that of TM (1.32 × 10¹⁶ sej ha⁻¹). From the perspective of the emergy index, compared with TM, EM exerted less pressure on the local environment and has better stability and sustainability. This was due to the higher input of renewable resources in EM. The LCA results showed that based on mass as the functional unit, the potential environmental impact of the EM is relatively high, and its total environmental impact index was 18.67–33.19% higher than that of the TM. Fertilizer input and On-Farm emissions were the main factors causing environmental consequences. Choosing alternative fertilizers that have a smaller impact on the environment may effectively reduce the environmental impact of the system. The economic analysis results showed that due to the higher selling price of early-maturing mango, the total profit and cost–benefit ratio of the EM have increased by 55.84% and 36.87%, respectively, compared with the TM. These results indicated that EM in Sanya City can enhance environmental sustainability and boost producers’ annual income, but attention should be paid to the negative environmental impact of excessive fertilizer input. These findings offer insights into optimizing agricultural inputs for Hainan mango production to mitigate multiple environmental impacts while enhancing economic benefits, aiming to provide theoretical support for promoting the sustainable development of the Hainan mango industry. Full article

European pig farmers are challenged by increasingly stringent EU regulations to protect the environment from pollution, to meet animal welfare standards and to make pig farming more sustainable. Economic sustainability is defined as the ability to achieve higher profits by respecting social and natural resources. This study is focused on the analysis of the economic resilience of intensive and extensive farming systems, based on data collected from 56 farms located in Denmark, Poland, Italy and Spain. Productive and economic performances of these farms are analyzed, and economic resilience is assessed through a survey including a selection of indicators, belonging to different themes: [i] resilience of resources, [ii] entrepreneurship, [iii] propensity to extensification. The qualitative data from the questionnaire allow for an exploration of how production systems relate to the three dimensions of resilience. Different levels of resilience were found and discussed for intensive and extensive farms. The findings suggest that intensive farms benefit from high standards and greater bargaining power within the supply chain. Extensive systems can achieve profitability through value-added strategies and generally display good resilience. Policies that support investment and risk reduction are essential for enhancing farm resilience and robustness, while strengthening farmer networks can improve adaptability. Full article

Silvopastoral systems, though ecologically beneficial, remain underrepresented in the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy and are seldom studied in Mediterranean contexts. The current study assesses both the environmental and economic aspects of five typical silvopastoral systems in central Greece, encompassing cattle, sheep, and goat farming. A Life Cycle Assessment approach was implemented to quantify greenhouse gas emissions using economic allocation, distributing impacts between milk and meat outputs. Enteric fermentation was the major emission source, accounting for up to 65.14% of total emissions in beef-based systems, while feeding and soil emissions were more prominent in mixed and small ruminant systems. Total farm-level emissions ranged from 60,609 to 273,579 kg CO₂eq per year. Economically, only beef-integrated systems achieved an average annual profitability above EUR 20,000 per farm, based on financial data averaged over the last five years (2020–2024) from selected case studies in central Greece, while the remaining systems fell below the national poverty threshold for an average household, underscoring concerns about their economic viability. The findings underline the dual challenges of economic viability and policy neglect, stressing the need for targeted support if these multifunctional systems are to add value to EU climate goals and rural sustainability. Full article

Agricultural production in southern Angola faces challenges due to unsustainable practices, including inefficient use of water, fertilizers, and machinery, resulting in low yields and environmental degradation. Therefore, clear and measurable indicators are needed to guide farmers toward more sustainable practices. The scientific literature insufficiently addresses this issue, leaving a significant gap in the evaluation of key performance indicators (KPIs) that can guide good agricultural practices (GAPs) adapted to the context of southern Angola, with the goal of promoting a more resilient and sustainable agricultural sector. So, the objective of this study is to identify and assess KPIs capable of supporting the selection of GAPs suitable for maize, potato, and tomato cultivation in the context of southern Angolan agriculture. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted, screening 2720 articles and selecting 14 studies that met defined inclusion criteria. Five KPIs were identified as the most relevant: gross margin, net profit, water use efficiency, nitrogen use efficiency, and machine energy. These indicators were analyzed and standardized to evaluate their contribution to sustainability across different GAPs. Results show that organic fertilizers are the most sustainable option for maize, drip irrigation for potatoes, and crop rotation for tomatoes in southern Angola because of their efficiency in low-resource environments. A clear, simple, and effective representation of the KPIs was developed to be useful in communicating to farmers and policy makers on the selection of the best GAPs in the cultivation of different crops. The study proposes a validated KPI-based methodology for assessing sustainable agricultural practices in developing regions such as southern Angola, aiming to lead to greater self-sufficiency and economic stability in this sector. Full article

Currently, Poland is witnessing a dynamic development of the offshore wind energy sector, which will be a key component of the national energy mix. While many international studies have addressed wind energy deployment, there is a lack of research that compares the energy and economic performance of both onshore and offshore wind farms under Polish climatic and spatial conditions, especially in relation to turbine spacing optimization. This study addresses that gap by performing a computer-based simulation analysis of three onshore spacing variants (3D, 4D, 5D) and four offshore variants (5D, 6D, 7D, 9D), located in central Poland (Stęszew, Okonek, Gostyń) and the Baltic Sea, respectively. The efficiency of wind farms was assessed in both energy and economic terms, using WAsP Bundle software and standard profitability evaluation metrics (NPV, MNPV, IRR). The results show that the highest NPV and MNPV values among onshore configurations were obtained for the 3D spacing variant, where the energy yield leads to nearly double the annual revenue compared to the 5D variant. IRR values indicate project profitability, averaging 14.5% for onshore and 11.9% for offshore wind farms. Offshore turbines demonstrated higher capacity factors (36–53%) compared to onshore (28–39%), with 4–7 times higher annual energy output. The study provides new insight into wind farm layout optimization under Polish conditions and supports spatial planning and investment decision making in line with national energy policy goals. Full article