Qiuju Luo

Digital nomads are typically defined as individuals who leverage information and communication technologies to work remotely while maintaining spatial mobility (Makimoto & Manners, 1997). With the ...

The rapid expansion of the digital economy is driving transformation in economic and industrial landscapes worldwide, while its impact on environmental performance remains a matter of debate. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between digitalization and environmental performance in BRICS+ countries over the period 2000–2024, with a particular focus on the mediating role of industrial structure. Digitalization is measured using two distinct indicators: digital infrastructure (DINF) and digital connectivity (DCO). The empirical analysis employs a two‐way fixed‐effect model with Driscoll‐Kraay (DK) standard errors as the baseline estimator, while panel threshold estimation is used to examine nonlinear effects across different levels of industrial development. Furthermore, the Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) and Panel‐Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) estimations are employed as robustness checks. The results indicate that DCO is positively and significantly associated with environmental performance, whereas DINF does not exhibit a significant effect. The mediation analysis further reveals that industrial structure partially mediates the relationship between DCO and environmental performance, whereas no significant mediating effect is observed for DINF. Environmental performance is a strongly associated with government effectiveness, although the estimated effect of government effectiveness varies across different estimation methods. Economic growth and urbanization are negatively associated with environmental performance, while renewable energy consumption is positively associated with emissions, suggesting the existence of transitional challenges in the deployment of renewable energy. In addition, the panel threshold analysis indicates that the effect of digitalization on the environmental performance varies across different stages of the industrial development, highlighting structural transformation as a key factor in unlocking the environmental benefits of digitalization. The empirical findings provide important policy implications for promoting environmentally responsible digital transformation across BRICS+ countries.

The transition from a rural to an urbanized society has disrupted social relationships. However, few studies have addressed this issue. Building on interaction ritual theory, this study investigates how urbanization and the traditional Dragon Boat Festival have reshaped villagers’ social relationships in Liede, a redeveloped urban village in Guangzhou, China. The qualitative findings reveal that, under the influence of urbanization and festivals, villagers’ interactions include four interaction rituals: traditional rural living rituals, modern urban living rituals, Dragon Boat Festival rituals, and living rituals after the festival. The Dragon Boat Festival particularly supports the villagers in reshaping their social connections and aids in their reintegration into the community of acquaintances. This study offers theoretical contributions on interaction ritual theory and urban village research. Furthermore, practical implications are provided for strengthening the community’s social cohesion.

Sustainability has gained momentum in the event industry, but the literature mainly views green events as static while neglecting the process of event greening. There continues to be a paucity of research on how to engage a wide range of event stakeholders during the greening process. To bridge this gap, this chapter employs a longitudinal case study on a trade fair in China – the Import and Export (Canton) Fair. Results show that Canton Fair attempted to promote green events in 2012 but faced challenges due to stakeholder disengagement. The greening process began in 2014 with the initiation of the Green Development (GD) project. During GD project 1.0, the Canton Fair organisers utilised institutional and bargaining powers to encourage eco-exhibiting (i.e. green booth construction and dismantling). In 2016, they successfully engaged stakeholders and encouraged all exhibitors to adopt eco-exhibiting. The GD project 2.0 was further released in 2017. To date, exhibitors have transitioned from a compliance-based approach to considering eco-exhibiting as a competitive advantage. Additionally, the Canton Fair shows a positive spill-over: its green practices are imitated by more fairs and promoted nationwide. Overall, this chapter offers practical implications for events and tourism industry in engaging a wide range of stakeholders for sustainable development.

Cruise lines are adopting onboard quarantine as part of emergency response measures to the global pandemic. However, little is known about the social support embedded in the social-mediated communication process to assist passengers in coping and building resilience. Guided by the conservation of resource theory, this study adopted the netnography approach to analyze the online interactions between quarantined passengers on Diamond Princess and netizens. A qualitative approach was employed to analyze the content of a relational dataset consisting of 14 research subjects, 3,368 posts, and 67,964 comments. The results not merely showed the changing foci of the comments over time but also revealed the supporting role played by social media. The constant engagement with netizens provided passengers with information and social support, which contributed to their coping and resilience-building. These findings offer a new theoretical perspective on incorporating social media in tourism crisis management, as well as practical implications for cruise lines and tourism organizations to optimize their resource utilization for marketing recovery.