Paul Tae-Woo Lee

Purpose: This paper aims to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) enhances container port operations, examining the interconnections between container ports and AI technologies and highlighting trends in AI applications for developing smart and green ports as well as future research directions. Design/Methodology/Approach: This paper employs a literature review approach to analyze the role of AI in container port operations, focusing on the integration of various AI technologies and their implications for port efficiency and sustainability. Findings: AI technologies, including 5G, machine learning, drones, big data, Industry 4.0 and blockchain, play a significant role in enhancing the operations of container ports. They contribute to improving port efficiency, enabling the development of smart ports and mitigating environmental impacts to foster green ports. The interconnections between these technologies and container ports present notable trends while also identifying avenues for future research. Research limitations/implications: This paper is limited by the scope of the literature reviewed, which focuses primarily on technological applications rather than empirical case studies across diverse port contexts. Future research could explore comparative analyses of AI implementations in different port environments and assess long-term economic and environmental impacts. Practical implications: Container terminal operators can leverage AI technologies to address inter-port and intra-port competition by boosting container throughput and port efficiency. Policymakers and port managers can utilize the trends in AI applications to guide the development of smart and green port strategies, investing in relevant infrastructure and technological frameworks. Originality/Value: For enterprises and firms in maritime logistics, embracing AI in container port operations can lead to more efficient supply chain processes, reducing delays and costs.

Purpose: Considering rapid digitalization development, this study examines the impacts of digital technology innovation on social responsibility in platform enterprises.Design/methodology/approach: The study applies the event study method and cross-sectional regression analysis, taking 168 digital technology innovations for social responsibility issued by 88 listed platform enterprises from 2011 to 2022 to study the impact of digital technology innovations for social responsibility announcements of different announcement content and platform attributes on the stock market value of platform enterprises.Findings: The results show that, first, the positive stock market reaction is produced on the same day as the digital technology innovation announcement. Second, the announcement of the platform’s public social responsibility and the announcement of co-innovation and radical innovation bring more positive stock market reactions. In addition, the announcements mentioned above issued by trading platforms bring more positive stock market reactions. Finally, the social responsibility attribution characteristics of the announcement did not have a significant differentiated impact on the stock market reaction.Originality/value: Most scholars have studied digital technology innovation for social responsibility through modeling rather than second-hand data to empirically examine. This study uses second-hand data with the instrumental stakeholder theory to provide a new research perspective on platform social responsibility. In addition, in order to explore the different impacts of digital technology innovation on social responsibility, this study has classified digital technology innovation for social responsibility according to its social responsibility and digital technology innovation characteristics.

Purpose: Using social network theory (SNT), this study empirically examines the impact of digital supply chain announcements disclosing corporate social responsibility (CSR) information on stock market value.Design/methodology/approach: Based on 172 digital supply chain announcements disclosing CSR information from Chinese A-share listed companies, this study uses event study method to test the hypotheses.Findings: First, digital supply chain announcements disclosing CSR information generate positive and significant market reactions, which is timely. Second, strategic CSR and value-based CSR disclosed in digital supply chain announcements have a more positive impact on stock market, however there is no significant difference when the CSR orientation is either towards internal or external stakeholders. Third, in terms of digital supply chain network characteristics, announcements reflecting higher relationship embeddedness and higher digital breadth and depth lead to more positive increases of stock value.Originality/value: First, the authors consider the value of CSR information in digital supply chain announcements, using an event study approach to fill the gap in the related area. This study is the first examination of the joint impact of digital supply chain and CSR on market reactions. Second, compared to the previous studies on the single dimension of digital supply chain technology application, the authors innovatively consider supply chain network relationship and network structure based on social network theory and integrate several factors that may affect the market reaction. This study improves the understanding of the mechanism between digital supply chain announcements disclosing CSR information and stock market, and informs future research.

Guest editorial: Smart supply chain management to achieve carbon neutrality: risk, challenges and opportunities - Author: Weihua Liu, Paul Tae Woo Lee, Li Zhou, Kevin W. Li, Truong Van Nguyen

Purpose: This study aims to explore the impact of carbon neutral announcements on “stock market value” of publicly listed companies in China.Design/methodology/approach: The event study approach is adopted. Market, market-adjusted, Carhart four-factor model and a cross-sectional regression model are employed to examine the impacts of carbon neutral announcements on “stock market value” of Chinese companies based on data from 188 carbon neutral announcements.Findings: Carbon neutral announcements positively impact Chinese shareholder value. Carbon neutral announcements at the strategic level have a more positive and significant impact on Chinese stock market value. Innovative carbon neutral announcements do not significantly cause Chinese stock market reactions. Companies have more positive and significant stock market reactions when the companies make carbon neutral announcements that reflect high supply chain network resilience and heterogeneity and strong supply chain network relationships.Practical implications: The findings uncover the business value of carbon neutral activities and provide operations managers in developing countries insights into how to improve enterprises' market value by actively implementing carbon neutral activities.Originality/value: This paper is the first trial to apply an event study to examine the relationship between carbon neutral announcements and Chinese stock market value from the perspective of announcement level and type and supply chain networks. This paper introduces corporate reputation theory and enriches the application of corporate reputation theory in the field of low-carbon environmental protections and supply chains.

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the spatio-temporal patterns of Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) since the inception of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013 as an extended version of geographically weighted regression.Design/methodology/approach: The panel data are used to examine spatial and temporal dynamics of the magnitude and the direction of China's outward FDI stock and its flow from 2011 to 2015 at a country level. Using the geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR), spatio-temporal distribution of FDI is explained through Logistic Performance Index, the size of gross domestic product (GDP), Shipping Linear Connectivity Index and Container Port Throughput.Findings: A comparative analysis between participating and non-participating countries in the BRI shows that the size of GDP and Container Port Throughput of the participating countries have a positive effect on the increases of China's outward FDI Stock to Asia especially after 2013, while non-participating countries, such as North America, Western Europe and Western Africa, have no significant effect on it before and after the implementation of the BRI.Research limitations/implications: The findings, however, will not necessarily provide insight into the needs of China's outward FDI in certain countries to develop their economy. The findings provide the evidence to inform policy making to help identify the winners and losers of the investment, scale and direction of investment and the key drivers that shape the distributive investment patterns globally.Practical implications: The study provides the empirical evidence to inform investment policy and strategic realignment by quantifying scale, direction and drivers that shape the spatio-temporal shifts of China's FDI.Social implications: The analysis also guides the Chinese government improve bilateral trade, build infrastructure and business partnerships with preferential countries participating in the BRI.Originality/value: There is an urgent need to adopt a new perspective to unfold the spatial temporal complexity of FDI that incorporates space and time dependencies, and the drivers of the situated context to model their effects on FDI. The model is based on GTWR and an extended geographically weighted regression (GWR) allowing the simultaneous analysis of spatial and temporal decencies of exploratory variables.